Harry Potter and the Greatest Power
by HarryPotHead
Summary: THIS IS NOW AN ALTERNATE REALITY FIC!!! As Ms. Rowling doesn't have the psychic capabilities to realise she's just screwed up everyone's fanfics. But we still love her right?
1. Introduction

In his last year at Hogwarts Harry will come up against some troubles that even Magic can't solve.  
  
He's finally seventeen, his last year is only weeks away, but problems have started to arise before he goes to stay with Ron. At the end of last year, after worrying about Voldomort for so long and nothing coming from it, Harry decides to change some of his Wizard gold into Muggle money at Gringotts. With a need for a break from his school life and from his relatives at Privet Drive Harry falls in with a Gothic group inner city. He is amused by their beliefs of what magic exists and their aspirations to be Vampires, but he loves their liberation, in mind, in body, and in sex!  
  
After a few weekends going out to disreputable clubs Harry becomes a serial monogamist. He has sex with as many people as he possibly can and then discards them like so much old meat. But after a surprise encounter in which sex turns a bedroom into a battleground and the girl doesn't seem to shocked he is forced back into his world and tries to rectify his mistake. There is one thing that holds him sane and gives him a reason to change back into the nice little boy that he was, seeing his friends again, and seeing HER again...  
  
But with a surprise student coming to Hogwarts in his final year, Harry begs the question, Can anyone really leave their past behind them?  
  
Thanks for reading. This is my first Fic so bear with me. The next chapter will be up soon but I need some reviews so I'll know if the story is good or not. 


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but that's obvious from my pen name. Like   
J.K.Rowling would call herself Harry Pothead!!!  
  
Info: This is actually the first Chapter! The last one was a summary of the story before   
this chapter starts. Kind of like a blurb! It's a little jumpy, it keeps going from present   
to Harry remembering the summer in his dreams.  
  
  
Chapter 1.  
  
Nostalgia.  
  
'There were flashing lights all around him. Some blinded him, some deafened him but he   
didn't know why. They seemed like explosions, there was a fuzzy heat all around him but   
it didn't burn. It felt like it was receeding but the light seemed to getting closer. He  
looked forward to see a mass of black hair writhing before his eyes. It could have been his   
own, he felt like he had long hair, longer than usual, but he didn't seem to care why. He   
stroked it lightly out of the way, but it didn't move, it seemed alive, it grabbed at his   
fingers and pulled sucking the warmth out of them. There was more pulling, he could feel   
himself gyrating, could feel an orgasm coming on its way, but with it he could feel something  
else, his power, his energy, his life!   
  
Out of the hair came a face, as if it was swimming through a black sea, looking for him. It was  
a girl, a woman. Though the face was very fuzzy he knew the face was beautiful as soon as she   
had smiled, those perfect teeth were the only thing that he noticed, they were the only thing   
that was really defined. But they now seemed to be abnormal, they were growing, changing shape,   
getting... pointier! She lashed out at him, the teeth flying towards his neck and he jumped with   
all his strength.'   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry hit the bedroom floor hard, it had all been a dream! He could feel his arm bruising as he   
lay there, and somewhere in the background he could hear footsteps coming towards his door.  
"Shut up you little runt!" a voice shouted through his door as a fat fist hammered on it. It   
rattled in it's frame until at last it settled back as he heard footsteps leading away.  
  
Harry Potter couldn't help but smile at what his Uncle Vernon had said. Harry at seventeen   
towered over his uncle, his aunt and his cousin Dudley by at least a foot. And whereas his uncle  
and cousin were fat, he was half the size of them with a well toned muscular body. Seventeen years   
of living in a house where he was never fed or told to go to his room all of the time had forced   
him to exercise just to take his mind off things. In fact the only time when he had not been   
completely miserable while being forced to live with them was this passed summer. But that   
brought back memories that he tried to block from his mind. With his bedside clock reading 2:30am   
he fell back into a troubled, fitful sleep...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry watched as Hermione and Ron walked away from him towards their respective families. They   
had said goodbye to him but he hadn't really noticed. He was to busy trying to work out where his  
Uncle Vernon was. He had sent an letter home with Hedwig telling him that term was finishing a   
day earlier but there was no sign of him. While thinking of Hedwig he saw a flash of white pass   
the entrance to Kings Cross and he rushed to see what it had been. As soon as he was outside a   
big white owl flew to rest on his shoulder.   
  
"Hedwig!" he exclaimed loudly, causing a lot of people to look at him. He let the Owl nip his   
finger affectinately and then untied the letter that was attached to his leg. It was tied on   
awkwardly, signifying that Hedwig had put up a struggle. That coupled with the fact that the   
letter was written on normal paper meant that it must have been from Uncle Vernon. He opened it   
quickly and found the messy scrawl that could only have come from his pudgy hands...  
  
'You'll have to make your own way back, then won't you!'  
  
Harry almost fell over with shock. Uncle Vernon had never let him go anywhere on his own, apart  
from school; he wouldn't dare follow him there. But this was unbelievable! Almost instantly he  
knew what he was going to do. He wheeled his trolley into an alley nearby and pulled out his   
wand. He made a magical signal with it and almost instantly the Knight bus turned up right next  
to him. He smiled as Stan opened the door for him and dragged his trolley on.   
  
"Diagon Alley please Stan," he said smiling. He had never had this much freedom before, he was   
going to use it to the extreme. Coupled with the fact that he had a fortune in wizard gold that  
could be exchanged into muggle money, he was gonna have fun.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
This had been his first mistake. Thinking that he could handle freedom in London at sixteen was  
a mistake a lot of people seemed to make. He had taken out a lot of money; all in all about a   
thousand pounds, a mere fraction of his parents fortune and booked into the Leaky Cauldron.   
Coming out of there every day had got him some strange looks from some Gothic kids as he walked   
passed them. It wasn't until the third day that one had run over to him to talk.  
  
"Hello mate, I'm Rufus," he said sounding quite friendly. Since Harry had started Hogwarts he had  
found no trouble making friends with weird strangers, and these guys were no exception. The guys   
seemed to think he was brave for staying in such a weird place and thought he was cute because of   
his scar and jet black hair. They took him under their wing and got his ears pierced, black and   
yellow panther contact lenses, new black leather and PVC clothes, and the tips of his hair died a  
deep crimson. He looked and felt every bit the part of a Goth as he walked towards the dodgiest   
club in London. This is where it all started.  
  
Sarah, Katie, Amy, June, Kat, there was a different girl every weekend. At first it was all the   
girls in his new group of friends. But then he moved on to bigger and better things. Older,  
younger, before he knew it he had in fact had sex with 32 different girls.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He groaned and moved in bed, his previous vice causing him strange nightmares. He remembered   
every little detail of the person he had changed into. But now as he tried to turn away from it;  
rolling over in bed as he did, SHE popped into his head. He groaned at the memory of his last   
nightmare; even while asleep, but it was not the same.  
  
Her bedroom was a war zone, there were still some smoking embers of what had been furniture. He  
glanced around to see no windows left and a gaping hole where the fire had been. Actually it   
wasn't a gaping hole as much as there was no wall, only a roaring fire in the middle of the dead  
of the morning. He followed the pinprick of daylight that showed over the horizon through her   
window to see it flickering on her face. She turned away from it groaning, blood still fluid   
started to run down her cheek from her mouth. He felt his neck with his hand and felt the blood   
running down it slowly. He jumped up and had his clothes on faster than he could draw breath, but   
in an instant he was stopped dead in his tracks. There was a cold dead laugh from behind him. He   
turned around and still dreaming looked into that laughing face for what seemed like the   
thousandth time and woke up screaming...   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
His clock read 10:00 now as he looked at it panting. This was strange, it meant that his Uncle had   
left him sleeping. He couldn't hear anyone downstairs, which confused him even more as his heart   
started to beat at normal speed. He could feel his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and as he   
brushed his hand through it he realised why they had left him alone. He sat staring at the red tips  
of his hair and thought of the Weasleys. He hadn't thought of his friends since he had left Hogwarts  
all those weeks ago. He could feel his eyes welling up, if only he had used his freedom to turn up   
at their houses he would never have a reason to have these nightmares... But that wasn't the only   
reason. He looked at the red hair again and thought of her, thought of how happy he was every time he   
saw her, even though she didn't know how he felt. No-one did! This summer had betrayed his feelings   
for her, and now he would leave it all behind him and tell her, tell her what she meant to him...  
  
He got dressed quickly and threw all of his things; including his birthday cards and presents from  
Sirius, into his trunk. He let Hedwig out of her cage and sent her flying out of his window to the   
Weasleys, he knew she preferred flying to driving anyway, especially when it was Mr. Weasley behind   
the wheel. As soon as he got downstairs he knew they had arrived. The bins that Uncle Vernon had put   
outside that morning could be heard crashing across the garden and then a screech of breaks. Not even  
Mr. Weasley drove that badly though, he must have been letting Ron drive. There was a very loud knock  
on the door also accompanied by the doorbell. He opened it smiling, to see a lanky ginger boy staring   
back at him, who's grin had turned into a look of shock.  
  
"Hey Ron!" Harry said happily.  
  
"Harry!" Ron gasped as they hugged and then looked him up and down as they parted, "Is that you?" 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.  
  
Long time no see...  
  
Harry smiled again at the look on his best friends face. He supposed he had changed a lot since   
Ron had last seen him, and he stood there fingering the dragon tooth ear ring he had bought in  
Diagon Alley. To break the tension between them he looked around outside for Ron's Father but the   
car was empty. He looked back at Ron who he now noticed, had the Keys in his hand.  
  
"Ron? Where's your Dad?" he asked not quite understanding what the situation was. He thought his  
dad would have driven, even one of his brothers. Ron smiled weakly. Harry could tell that Ron  
wanted to shout at him, to chastise him for not keeping in touch, to tell him some really good   
news. But instead he just stuttered slowly.  
  
"Well, I... kinda... passed that Muggle test over the holidays..." he said twirling the keys   
clumsily around his finger. Harry watched as Ron's weak smile turned into the makings of an   
uncomfortable grimace when he had an idea. He smirked obviously which made Ron start, and looked   
behind him at the mess on the lawn.  
  
"How'd you manage that?" he said still smiling, "Your driving is terrible! You must have used a  
memory charm or something..." Ron smiled, really smiled. He started to giggle just has Harry held   
out his hand, and as he took it tears started running from his eyes and they both laughed   
heartily as they embraced again. After what seemed like a long time they parted again, and it was   
as if they had never been apart, as if they had spent the entire summer together. It was the   
first time that Harry had been able to forget everything he had done, and he was happy for it.  
  
"I've missed you man," Ron said as he took Harry's things and pulled them towards the boot of the  
car. Harry's apologies went unsaid. he could see from the look in Ron's eyes that he had already   
made them. But the question he was dreading was still on it's way, and he braced himself as Ron   
began to speak, "Where did you go this summer?" Harry looked up at him, his hand resting on the   
handle of the door. Ron was leaning on his car roof, arms open, open for anything Harry could   
throw at him. But Harry wasn't ready, and as he opened the door and flashed Ron small smile, he   
spoke...  
  
"Nowhere. Nowhere special..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Harry I love you more than life itself..." said Ginny as he brushed her long red hair out of her   
eyes. He took her in his arms lovingly, caressing her back, and drawing his hand up the front of   
her body to cradle her chin. His touch sent an electrical current up her spine as he brushed her   
neck softly with his fingertips. He bent in closer to her his lips moist and inviting.  
"Ginny…" she stared at him in shock as his lips formed her name; she had never heard it said so   
sensually before, and waited for him to say those words that she was longing to here, "…It's time   
to go. Wake up!" and as he let his lips brush hers her world swirled lilac around her.  
  
"Wake up Ginny! Get dressed it's almost time to go!" shouted Hermione from outside the door. She   
rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and looked around at Hermione's room.  
"Coming!" she shouted sleepily as she threw the covers off. And pulled her nightgown straight. She   
sighed as she sat up and licked her lips tenderly. He had almost kissed her that time, almost...   
She always seemed to wake up before the best part of the dream...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione opened the door to see Ginny changing into some old Muggle clothes she had given her. She   
was still half naked so Hermione turned around and waited until she was ready. She found herself   
wishing for the hundredth time since Ginny had come to stay that they weren't her old clothes, they   
were to small for Ginny by far. She had noticed as soon as Ginny had walked through the door that   
they wouldn't fit her, but Ginny loved them. The Jeans were small enough to look like peddle   
pushers, and everything was a lot tighter than they had used to be on Hermione. They had both grown   
up a lot, and it was only now, looking down at her own curvaceous body and large breasts, that   
Hermione noticed how much Ginny had caught up with her. She turned around to see Ginny putting on   
Hermione's old training bra and blushed. It made Ginny look extremely thin and extremely beautiful,   
and she found herself jealous. It had never made her breasts look that big.  
  
"Thanks again for these clothes," Ginny sang, her melodic voice articulating every word, "It's such   
a refreshing change from, Baggy robes and Wizard clothes!" she said giggling as she admired herself   
in the mirror. Hermione stared at her tight curves and sighed, definitely a contrast from   
Wizard clothes.  
  
"Come on," she said smiling again, "It's time for breakfast," and she dragged Ginny hurriedly out   
of the room as she tried to get a comfortable jumper on over the bra. In a while they would be on   
their way to the Weasly's house and there she would see him again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ron drove quietly, probably concentrating on what he was doing, but Harry didn't mind. He was   
thinking, seeing Ron and that Weasly hair, had reminded him of her... He had spent the whole car   
journey staring out of the car window, watching the rolling countryside fly by as he imagined holding   
her in his arms, caressing her hair, kissing those lips, kissing those...  
  
He was bounced out of his train of thought by the car flying into a driveway and Ron slamming on the   
breaks. Ron was smiling looking very smug, and Harry guessed this was the first time he hadn't killed   
someone, or been pulled over by the police. Harry smiled back at him and got out, quickly moving to   
the boot of the car to grab his stuff.   
  
"What's the rush?" said Ron smiling suspiciously at Harry. He knew exactly who Harry wanted to see   
but Harry still blushed with embarrassment, "Ginny stayed with Hermione over the holidays, but they   
should be back soon," he said still eyeing Harry with amusement. Harry grabbed his trunk off of Ron   
and started to walk slowly towards the door. Almost immediately the door opened and Harry was drawn   
up into a bear hug that parted the breath from his body. When he was finally let go, which seemed like   
an age, he looked up into the smiling face of Mrs. Weasly and smiled back. At once though her face   
adopted the expression that Ron's had when he had opened the door at Privet drive.  
  
"Harry?" she said eyeing his baggy black cords, his see-through fishnet top and his black dragon hide   
trench coat and New Rock boots, "If this is Bills influence on you I will be having some harsh words   
with that boy when he gets home!" Suddenly though she seized him in a hug again and dragged him inside,   
leaving Ron to carry all of his things at once, "We've missed you child…" she said sadly as he was   
drawn into the living room. Mr. Weasly already stood there a smile spreading across his face. He,   
unlike Mrs. Weasly seemed to love Harry's new style and rushed over to take his coat.  
  
"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully as he took it. He fingered the material delicately, "Nice and sturdy,   
a black Norwegian Ridgeback if I'm not mistaken. Any history behind it?" he asked Harry as Mrs. Weasly   
quickly brought him a cup of tea. Harry recounted the whole story of the tame Norwegian Ridgeback from   
long ago, that died protecting a village from it's own clan, then in death giving it's hide to the   
villagers to turn into strong, fire resistant clothes. Mr. Weasly and Ron seemed fascinated by the   
story and even more so when Harry told them how he had found a shop in Diagon Alley which still had some   
left after all this time. This he said was what he made into his Jacket and Boots, "I think Bill and   
Charlie would love something like this for Christmas," he said smiling at the workmanship, "Was it   
expensive Harry?"  
  
At this question Harry's face sunk into his shoes and he would have done anything to get out of the room   
at that moment. He hated the fact that he had a huge pile of Wizard gold in his bank account every time   
he was around the Weaslys. They were quite poor having had to raise seven children with only Mr. Weasly   
working. But he had an idea.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking of sending it to them from me," he lied, but suddenly realised how nice a   
thought it was, "I mean I've got presents for all you guys for the past few years, and you've always given   
them to me, including Bill and Charlie," he remembered the mummified hand from Bill and the dragon tooth   
he had in his ear, from Charlie, that they had sent him last year "I've never got anything for them though.   
I was thinking I could buy it and make up for three years of not getting them anything?" Ron and Mr. Weasly,   
not catching on to what he was trying to do, insisted that they do it themselves, but after a little   
coaxing from Mrs. Weasly who was a little quicker off the mark and understood the sentiment, everyone   
thought it was a wonderful idea.  
  
As soon as they had all sat down with tea though the fire flared up and turned a strange green colour.   
Harry realised that someone was on their way and Ron smiled with glee. Harry realised it must be Hermione   
and Ginny. Before he saw Ginny spinning slowly towards them he grabbed Ron's arm to draw him closer. He   
whispered in a conspiratorial tone...  
  
"It's been three years that I've had to watch you mope around after 'Mione like a love sick puppy. Now I   
want you to do something about it or I will!" he said a little to loud but the raging fire masked his   
voice, "Well what are you gonna do?"  
  
"You'll see..." said Ron still smiling as Ginny stepped out of the fire, her trunk in hand. Mrs. Weasly   
hugged her daughter hard and then excused her self to make dinner. Harry though had to do a double take   
as he looked at her. It was as if someone had taken the cute little girl that he had fallen for this   
summer and replaced her with a, still cute but beautiful, perfect young woman. He sat gawking as she   
looked at him and blushed. He hated it when he blushed in front of, because she didn't know how he felt,   
she might just think he didn't like her, and he was blushing because he felt awkward being around but that   
could not have been further from the truth. As suddenly as she had appeared Hermione stepped through   
gracefully also trunk in hand and the fire died down. Hermione was almost as beautiful as Ginny, probably   
more so in Ron's eyes but he was biased, because of the way he felt about Ginny, and the fact that   
Hermione was like a sister to him. Ron walked over to her though and smiled.  
  
"Long time no see..." he said as he moved closer and closer to her face, 'Would he make his move now?'   
Harry thought suddenly, but just as he thought it Ron bent down to Hermione and kissed her passionately.   
Harry was the only one in the room left gobsmacked...  
  
  
Okay this is my first and second Chapters on the same day, I thought it would take me longer to type   
up but hey... Anyway it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm new to this so be nice please? Please R+R. Thanks   
to Dumblewho! Keep writin that great fic! 


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Ooops! I forgot it in the last one, silly me! Just read the first and   
you'll get the idea. The only characters that belong to me are any that you've   
never heard of before.  
  
Also thanks to everyone for reviewing, I thought I was doing really badly until you   
guys dragged me out of the swamp which was my own self pity.   
  
Thanks to Dumblewho- who should really hurry up and write another chapter to his   
fic because it's great  
  
Mabel Weasley- no you didn't offend me with your first review, I should have   
explained myself better  
  
Ariel_undersea and TEssA- You both filled me with a lot of confidence  
  
GinnyPotter387- who is a wonderful writer, and maybe a little obsessed with Ginny?!?   
Keep up the great work!  
  
  
Chapter 3.  
  
All Grown Up?!?  
  
Ginny had almost fallen over as she stepped out of the fire and caught sight of who  
was staring back at her. It was a good thing her mother had rushed up to hug her and  
hold her up, she thought as she watched Ron and Hermione embrace, otherwise she  
would have fallen face first into Harry's crotch, and she didn't want that to happen...  
  
She had banished that thought as soon as it had come though, actually as soon as  
Harry had gone red and looked away. She fought to hold back the tears as Ron  
motioned towards Hermione and kissed her. She envied them. Why should they be so  
happy when Harry couldn't even look at her. She curled her arms tightly around  
herself as Harry got up to hug Hermione, as if to stop him seeing her body, she was  
sure it was ugly. She started to have a glimmer of hope as Harry moved off of  
Hermione but he just murmured "Hi..." and sat back down staring at his cup.   
  
'Why can't you look at me Harry?' she asked herself as she picked up her bag, and as  
she excused herself; she remembered how they had been making so much progress  
before the holidays...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny watched as Hermione and Ron sat alone at the edge of the school lake. Anyone  
else looking at them would have thought that they weren't speaking, they were sitting  
the furthest away from each other you could while still sitting together. But Ginny  
knew the truth, she knew that they both sat in silent contemplation of their feelings  
for each other, wondering whether they were worth jeopardising their friendship  
over... it was actually quite sweet! She just wished that a certain boy not a million  
miles away was contemplating the same thing...  
  
She turned to face Harry sitting close by and smiled. It took her a little while to notice  
that he had been staring at her and was smiling as well. She blushed and looked away  
but Harry took her face in his hands and drew her gaze back. As she stared into those  
peircing green eyes, they moved closer and she almost pursed her lips for a kiss, when  
he spoke.  
  
"What's wrong Ginny?" he asked, the look of concern on his face was actually quite  
cute. She smiled and placed her hands on his wrists, pulling them away from her face  
gently. She placed them around her and leaned back into him cuddling up.  
  
"It's just..." she said stuttering, not quite sure what to say, "With Ron and Hermione  
always going off with one another, I've been wondering if I'm the last resort for  
friendship? I mean to say," she kept on cutting off a reply, "the old Harry never  
bothered with me. Even when I spent the entire day with the three of you the old  
Harry never..." she was cut off by his finger pressed to her lips. She looked up into his  
eyes as he stroked her long red hair out of the way. He just smiled and looked down at  
her happily.  
  
"The OLD Harry never realised who his true friends were..." he said quite matter-of-factly   
and hugged her tighter. She sighed heavily and dwelt on those words, 'True Friends...'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
What the hell had he been thinking? He had asked himself that ever since that day  
laying there on the grassy knoll next to the lake. Completely oblivious to the fact that  
Ginny had been thinking of exactly the same day before the holidays he proceeded to  
beat himself up over what he had said, 'TRUE FRIENDS!!!' he shouted at himself,  
'Potter, you're a dick!' the little voice in his head said laughing.  
  
He looked up to see Ron and Hermione frowning down upon him. He placed a false  
but convincing smirk on his face and blew some of his hair off his face with a strained  
giggle.  
  
"When did this happen?" he said, pointing at their joined hands. Hermione just smiled  
awkwardly, leaving Ron to explain.  
  
"I used one of my driving lessons to drop Ginny off at Hermione's house the Muggle  
way," he said as Harry silently winced at the mention of her name, "I walked into  
Hermione's bedroom, to drop Ginny's stuff and I saw a picture of Hermione and me that  
was taken at school last year. Except we weren't exactly in the same kind of position as   
we had been when the picture was taken," he said smiling at Hermione. Hermione blushed and   
looked up at Harry.  
  
"It was quite embarrassing for the both of us. But not when Ron came over to me and started   
to do the same thing..." Before she had even got to the word 'started' Harry's mind wandered,  
Harry letting it rest on the memory of a girl he had 'met' last summer, who bore a   
striking resemblance to Ginny...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry took a large swig from his bottle of Muggle beer and sat down in the middle of the dark   
club. The music in the other two rooms was bouncing, loud, and in complete contrast to each   
other. But this room he liked. The 'Chill out room' muggle teens called it and it was just that.   
Full of the sickly sweet smell of marijuana in the air; almost everyone in there smoked it.   
Littered around the spacious room were bean bags and couches covered in the writhing bodies of   
lovers who had only met that night and would probably have someone else in five minutes. He   
looked to his left to see the boy who had brought him here already putting his shirt back on   
and making his excuses for why he was brushing off the girl on top of him. Harry had noticed   
last week that he did this a lot; he was easily bored it seemed. Harry laughed at his disdain;   
he had become exactly the same.  
  
But it wasn't his fault. It seemed that the club they were in did this to everyone; the sense   
of abandonment and freedom when you walked inside was intoxicating. It turned most people into   
sluts, whores who found no pleasure other than getting quick shag and then moving onto the next.   
Harry laughed to himself, 'I know it's happening, so it can't possibly affect me!' and he turned   
to his 'friend' again to see him holding his chest in pain.  
  
"That bitch hurt man," he said lazily as he pulled open his shirt to show Harry the street map of   
bleeding cuts that the girl had made with her nails, "but you like that kinda shit right?" he said   
chuckling to himself. Harry had in fact found out how much he loved the taste of blood when he   
had first met them, when his new found friend Jess had kissed him; after cutting the end of her   
tongue with a razorblade. It had freaked him out at first but the taste was amazing, coupled with   
the feeling of power as someone's life is drained away from them. Harry didn't even notice how   
wrong this sounded.  
  
Harry took another swig from his bottle and cradled it in his hand. Looking at it reminded him of   
Ron and his need for alcohol, just to see what it tasted like. Everyone at Hogsmeade knew who   
everyone else was and they were still a bit underage; not that anyone in this club cared much. As   
he took his last swig from the bottle and lifted his head he made eye contact with a pair of deep   
brown eyes that reminded him so much of... her! He shot up immediately, dropping his bottle as he   
rose but she looked away and from this angle he noticed that it was not Ginny, but her red hair   
and brown eyes did make them look amazingly alike. But that was his last train of thought. In an   
instant something took over. Whether it was the alcohol or the atmosphere he had never been able   
to tell, but without knowing he had moved he found himself next to the bar, ordering two drinks;   
a bottle for him and whatever she had in her hand. Vaguely remembering paying for them he found   
himself stepping in front of her rudely, cutting her off from her friends.   
  
'Sorry,' he thought instantly but his mouth had other ideas, "Hey..." the sound faded as he   
stared deep into her eyes. She didn't seem to mind at all as she took the drink from him and   
brushed his hand with hers. That was it; one touch was all it had taken and she was in his grasp.  
They flew towards the dance floor, forgetting the drinks that fell to the floor with a thud, she   
drew him close. A slow song came on, but one filled with passion (possibly Love Spell by Inkkubus  
Sukkubus, cos it's the song that comes to my mind. If you guys like Goth or anything that sounds  
like I think the Weird Sisters should, look them up on the internet!) and a drone that made her   
writhe against him, rubbing her legs in between his and clawing at his clothes. With the song   
finished she moved to sit down but he drew her back up and away. Harry knew where he was headed   
and screamed at himself to stop, but it was as if his body didn't want to listen. In no time they  
were inside the toilet cubicle her fishnet top already ripped to shreds; her black PVC bra   
hanging off her as her huge breasts were pushed into his mouth. She begged him to tear her   
clothes off and when he did, she was on him like an animal, tearing at his tight PVC trousers   
like she was possessed by an animal. As she took him inside her the feeling of ecstasy was so   
great he could back no longer and he bit her, hard on the neck, drawing blood, and sucked a   
little feeling the warm liquid flow slowly onto his tongue. He came instantly her body under his   
rigid with pleasure and he drew out, leaving her naked and bleeding as she tried to catch her   
breath.  
  
"You were in there a couple of hours, you enjoy?" asked Jess as she caught him by the arm and   
fell into his embrace, they kissed and she dove her tongue in deeper as she tasted the girls   
blood in his mouth, "Did you even get her name?" asked Kate as she ran her hand up Jess's back,   
from ass to neck biting it affectionately. Harry wanted to run away, he wanted to leave the club,  
but they were dragging him to the door anyway; the place was closing. Harry wanted to go back to   
help the girl to get her some clothes, to see if she was alright, but he only smiled and licked   
his lips.  
  
"Who cares..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny fell onto her bed, her eyes glazed over as she glanced around her room in a dream state.   
She picked up a brush and started to absent-mindedly brush her long straight red hair as she drew  
up a picture in her mind of Harry. The summer had been kind to him in a very strange way. When   
she had walked out of the fire place she had barely recognised him. If she hadn't known that   
Harry was probably the only other person going to be in her house apart from her family, she   
would have mistaken him for Bill. She remembered his posture as he sat on the chair gazing up at   
her, one of confidence and openness as a far cry from what it was before the summer. It was   
probably due to his muscles though, which she had noted, were considerably bigger than they had   
been. She remembered every curve, every outline on his body framed by his very nice black fishnet  
top. But the part of him she kept coming back to were those eyes, those piercing green eyes now   
framed by his long dark hair, the red tips seeming to bring them out even more.   
  
She sat up and took off her jumper, it was a little too baggy and she had gotten used to tight   
clothes living with Ginny. She looked down at her breasts and the rest of her body and sighed.   
She had heard boys liked big breasts but hers were probably too big, just like her mums. It was   
a family curse that she had to live with, because her mum had made it quite clear that if she had  
her body altered by magic then she was as good as dead. She sighed and fell back not even   
noticing her bedroom door open.  
  
"I hope you're not laying like that to entice me!" said a shocked voice. Ginny shot up, instantly  
thinking that it was Harry, but the red colour coming to her face was relief as she looked up at   
Hermione smiling down at her, "You shouldn't lay about like that now..." Hermione said not quite   
sure how to put it delicately, "...especially not with Harry in the house. Your friends, what   
would you have done if he had come up here to say hello?" Hermione said suddenly shocked again.  
  
"We've been friends for a while, it never bothered you before!" she shouted at Hermione;   
completely understanding what Hermione was trying to say but having fun seeing Hermione this   
uncomfortable. She could see the look on Hermione's face as she tried to find the right words to   
put it delicately to Ginny; she thought Ginny was so naive. Suddenly her face brightened as she   
found them and then softened as she prepared herself.   
  
"Ginny, you have to realise, that, you're all grown up now!" she said with emphasis on the 'all   
grown up.' Even though Ginny had already known exactly what she was trying to get at the words   
still had a lot of impact on her. She WAS all grown up, so why did she still harbour a silly   
little school girl crush? Hermione saw the look of confusion on her face and took it as a sign   
that she wanted some time alone, so she left pulling the door behind her.  
  
"All Grown Up..." Ginny sighed to herself. Then she realised that she enjoyed the school girl   
crush, she enjoyed the dreams she had about Harry, and if she were to give up her silly little   
school girl crush then she would have to stop having them. "All grown up..." she said to herself   
again, this time stifling a giggle, "...Never!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ 


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Read the introduction.  
  
Thanks a lot for the reviews you guys, I needed that. After about fifty attempts to actually   
try and upload the chapter, I was starting to lose faith in fanfiction.net all together.  
Special thanks to:  
  
Mabel Weasley - after reading your posts I hope you'll like this one. Little graphic sex   
scene stuck in on the end OK so you use much more graphic detail in your sex scenes, while I   
try to get around using language like f**k or p**sy. That's only cos I can't concieve Harry   
or his friends ever saying, let alone thinking of it. However, when Malfoy comes into it...  
  
GinnyPotter387 - Your either very modest and like to sell yourself short, or your just fishing   
for compliments. Either way I'll play along, cos you are a wonderful writer! Are you sure the   
chapter was perfect though cos I'm sure it could have been better. Also there's nothing wrong   
with Men. Okay so some of us are gits and I'm actually basing Harry very closely on the way my  
life was like last summer but we can change. I'm a nice guy! There are nice guys, they're just   
a little hard to find.  
  
Hope everyone likes this one!  
  
Chapter 4.  
  
The Secret Life of Us.  
  
(Harry and Hermione have both settled into the Burrow. It has now been a week since they   
arrived, and there is about one week left before the school year starts.)  
  
Harry spent the first few days about the Burrow trying as hard as he could to avoid Ginny,   
much to Ron's sadistic delight. He would take every opportunity he could to give Harry the   
third degree about whether he spent most of his time outside because Ginny was avoiding him   
by staying in her room. Ron however believed that Harry was hiding because he'd had enough   
of Ginny blushing every time they walked up to each other. He had no idea that the feelings   
they had for each other were as real as you could get, and neither did they. Harry remained   
embarrassed over the fact that he had fallen for Ron's little sister, and Ginny remained   
embarrassed over the fact that Harry didn't even like her.   
  
But she continued to show it less than Harry. Many a time had he sat down in the Paddock   
under a tree to see Ginny laughing and falling about with her brothers and Hermione. He had   
remained there silent trying to come to term with his feelings. His biggest problem was low   
self-esteem. He believed she was to good for him, he didn't deserve her, and he was doomed   
to a life like he had had last summer, a life he wanted so much to be rid of...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ron looked over at Harry sitting alone under a tree reading a book. He saw the look of   
anguish and confusion on his face and turned Hermione; who was struggling in his arms as he   
tickled her, towards Harry. At once they both stopped and without the rest of his family   
noticing they both walked over to him and sat down next to him. It took him a while to even   
notice they were there, but when he did, he shot bolt upright and gave a fake smile.   
  
If Ron hadn't seen the look on his face before he would have thought his friend was okay; he   
knew he was slow with subtlety, but this time he was not fooled. He put a hand on his friends   
shoulder and squeezed to comfort him. It was at this point that he first noticed how much   
Harry had really changed. He had already noticed his drastic change in fashion sense, but he   
had overlooked its implications because it was... well... Cool! But Harry's whole demeanour   
had changed; he looked and sounded like a great weight was weighing on his shoulders. But that   
was why they had come over, they were going to be there for him, and possibly shoulder some   
of the weight themselves. He was going to ask him what was wrong, but the words didn't seem   
right in his head. He was sure he knew what had made Harry like this but he couldn't quite   
place his finger on it. He looked to Hermione with a look of helplessness on his face and she   
smiled knowingly at him then turned to Harry.  
  
"What did you do over the summer then Harry?" she said quite cheerfully, probably in an   
attempt to get him to open up, "Come on we want to know everything..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry felt his face sink as soon as the words were out of Hermione's mouth. He had been avoiding   
the question for the last couple of days, with questions about what they did, and seeming overly   
interested. Its not that he wasn't interested, he was. He loved to hear about how their   
relationship had blossomed and he was really happy for them. But up until now he had enjoyed   
the freedom he gained whenever he talked about them, because they got so wrapped up in holding   
each others hands and gazing lovingly into each others eyes that they completely forgot to ask   
him anything. Now though there was no sign of that happening as they flanked him on both sides.   
All he needed now was Ginny to come and sit in front of him and he would be boxed in. Then he   
would surely lose all of his friends in one go. He sighed and slouched back against the tree.   
This was it, this was the final parting of the group, and it would be entirely his fault.  
  
"Well, when I left you guys at the station, Hedwig brought me a letter from my uncle..." he   
carried on, telling them of his new found freedom, his strange group of friends and what they   
did together. Ron smiled as he recounted his first proper kiss until he got to the bit about the   
razorblade and the blood; he saw Ron gasp at this. He explained everything, how he had felt when   
he did it as he looked from Ron to Hermione. Ron looked quite amazed, but in a bad way and   
Hermione just stared at him completely stoic. Harry thought about the look she was giving him as   
he looked at her and realised he had probably lost her at the start. Finally he got to the last   
girl, and he told them about the nightmares he had been having every night since. Ron gasped as   
he recounted every detail but Hermione turned to stare into the distance, her face a picture of   
what it was to loathe.   
  
"And that's it," he said breathing deeply, as if he had forgotten to when he was talking, "But   
before you say anything, I can see that you hate me now so I'll pack my things. But I just want   
you to know that you're the best friends I've ever had and I'll miss you, I love you guys..."   
and he got up to leave. At first he felt as if his legs wouldn't work, but then he realised he   
was being held back. He looked back and noticed that Hermione's hand had shot out and grabbed   
his cloak, "Please don't make me listen to a lecture…" he said pulling hard away, his eyes   
filling up with tears. Just then he felt a great weight knock him to the floor. He looked up to   
see Ron on top of him and he was scared; maybe he had gone too far and they were going to have   
him arrested. Then he felt Hermione slide her arms around him and he realised, they weren't   
holding him down, they were hugging him.  
  
"We love you to Harry!" Hermione cried out as she turned to look at him and he noticed tears   
flowing down her cheeks. He could feel his own starting to flow as he looked at Ron and realised   
he was also crying silently. They all sat there for a long time crying in each others arms. When   
they finally broke they noticed that they were alone in the Paddock. Ginny, Fred and George had   
gone some time ago, probably to leave them alone. Harry stood up and brushed the mud off of his   
black clothes.  
  
"So... I'm forgiven then?" he asked after drawing up the courage. Ron and Hermione just looked   
at him like he had made the stupidest comment ever, but he still needed to hear it.  
  
"There's nothing to forgive..." and it was Harry's turn to adopt the same look, "You were   
obviously under the influence of Dark magic, possibly the same dark magic that You-Know-Who has   
left as a part of you. Perhaps that's his way of destroying you," she said thoughtfully as Harry   
finally caught on.  
  
"Voldemort wants me to destroy myself?!" he gasped and looked back at Ron and Hermione. They both   
looked stunned; they still hadn't got used to the mention of his name by Harry who had no trouble   
with it at all, "I think it's time that I wrote a letter to Sirius…" and with that they all   
hurried back to the house to help him write it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dear Sirius,  
I know that you are spending all your time now with Professor Lupin but I need you to   
help me. Hermione thinks that some of the things I did this summer are starting to effect me;   
and she believes that it's an attack by Voldemort. I can't go into the details right now because  
it's a very long story, but I need you to be with me. I hope you can get here soon, hopefully   
before school starts. Please come.  
  
Love Harry  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dear Professor Lupin,  
I know it's probably a shock for a student to write to a teacher as I'm sure it doesn't   
happen very often, but the matter I am writing about is quite urgent. Harry has never had a   
proper birthday party in his life and I would like to request your company in the late surprise   
one that my family and I are throwing. It would be great if you could as you were our favourite   
teacher and I'm sure Harry would love someone who was so close to his parents when they were   
alive to be there. The date of the party is August the 25th, which I'm sorry to say is tomorrow,   
hopefully this should get to you in time because my brothers Owl is very fast.   
Until tomorrow then.  
  
Ginny Weasley  
  
Ginny put the quill down and quickly tied the letter to Pig's leg careful not to get the   
parchment wet as the tears streamed down her face. She took him to the window and threw him out   
only to have him dart back at her. He tried to use his tiny beak to stroke the tears away but he   
was too small. He hooted at her in futility and then slowly at first, started to fly away. In no   
time at all he sped off into the distance and was a tiny speck on the horizon before she had even  
had time to breathe. She sighed heavily as she felt another tear slide down her face. She knew   
she was doing this for Harry because she loved him but why? He didn't feel the same way. He   
didn't even want her as a friend. Most of his time over the past few days had been spent alone,   
while Ron and Hermione spent quality time together. Not once had he even noticed her, let alone   
asked her to keep him company. Before the summer they were never alone, Harry and Ginny were   
almost as inseperable as her brother and Hermione had become. Now it was as if she had never   
existed, that the times they shared together had never happened. She sighed and wiped the tears   
from her face, he didn't deserve her, but it didn't stop her from wanting him.  
  
'Why can't he just want me aswell?' she thought about this for a long time, as she paced her   
room, got undressed and in no time at all was standing in front of her mirror completely naked.   
She looked at herself in the mirror from every angle, determined to find something drastically   
wrong with her so she could work out why he wasn't attracted to her. After a few minutes she   
stopped, it would be useless to carry on because she knew in her heart that there was nothing,   
'I'm just not his type...' she thought to herself as she stroked her thighs, drawing her hands   
up her body over her breasts to hold her neck and play through her hair. She imagined they were   
Harry's hands as she fell back onto her bed and drifted into a restless but arousing dream.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry laid her down on the bed and carressed her body as Ginny moaned in delight. He used his   
tounge to stroke right down from her neck to her navel and pushed on her stomach, something   
inside her just seemed to connect and an electrical current shot from her head to her toes. She   
grabbed his head and pulled him back up for a kiss as he sqeezed her breasts and ran a hand   
between her legs. She had never felt so much pleasure in her life as she did then but he wasn't   
going to stop there. He broke from the kiss as she felt him press against her and he started to   
to suck her neck nipping and biting at it as he worked his way down. At once his tongue was   
inside her and she squealed in pleasure as it explored her very being. Then suddenly his face   
was in front of hers. His green peircing eyes stared into hers for what seemed like eternity and  
then she felt him in her. She gasped as she felt him sliding deeper into her, stripping her of   
her innocence. She wrapped her legs around his back and dug her nails into his chest; the   
pleasure was so intense, but the pain just made him thrust harder. One minute she was writhing   
underneath him in pleasure, the next her body was rigid in ecstasy as she felt a warm flood   
deep within her that seemed to permeate every cell of her being. She looked up to see his hair   
stuck to his head and licked the sweat that was dripping from his nose. He looked at her now,   
his chest heaving his energy spent inside her and he whispered just so she could hear.  
  
"I love you Ginny!" and with that she licked him cleaning the blood from his chest, the taste   
so intoxicating she bit harder wanting more. Harry screamed...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry shot up in bed. It was midnight by his reckoning but he was wide awake. He remebered   
everything, how it had felt, how it had happened, even how it had tasted, but he couldn't help   
wondering, 'Was that from me?'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny Weasley smiled to herself as she slept. She shuffled a bit to get comfortable and rolled   
over for a night of deep, dreamless sleep... 


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Read the first one.  
  
Thanks for the reviews. Okay so there weren't many(probably my fault as at the moment I'm not   
really leaving people that much time to post a review) but the ones that are there are great   
thanks. Special Thanks to:  
  
Mabel Weasley: Hope you keep reviewing, cos after reading your fics, reviews from an excellent   
writer such as yourself are much appreciated! But I don't see why you don't like Harry and Ginny   
fics, they're meant to be together! I hope your not too sickened by the whole blood thing, I   
noticed you mentioned that...  
  
Katie: Your wish is my command! This chapter is not all Ginny and Harry but a look deeper into his   
dark side. You'll have to wait until the next chapter for a deeper insight into hers!  
  
Also to Harrysgirl: That would be telling wouldn't it. Wait and see, I might just surprise you!  
Chapter 5.  
  
Unexpected guests.  
  
Ginny woke up in the morning with a huge smile on her face that she couldn't get rid of, not   
even when she had to hurriedly change her bed sheets in case her mother came in. She was in   
the middle of doing this when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She had been so busy thinking   
about every detail of her wonderful dream last night that she hadn't noticed Hermione waking   
up behind her. She turned to look at Hermione who looked as if she was caught between being   
horrified, by the mess on her sheets or amused. Either way she looked very uncomfortable. Ginny   
looked at her still smiling and let out a school girl giggle before rolling up her soiled sheets   
into a ball and throwing them into a wash basket in the corner. She smiled at Hermione again   
and trotted out of the room. She then ran back in and covered herself as she remembered that   
she had no clothes on. This made Hermione smile as Ginny ran about the room startled into finding   
some clothes. Ginny noticed that Hermione was watching her very closely. She thought about asking   
her why she was staring when Hermione spoke instead.  
  
"Have a good sleep last night?" she asked with a sly grin on her face. Ginny just smiled at her   
and blushed, "Or did you have someone in here with you that I wasn't aware of?" At this Ginny   
shot up off the bed, the bra she had been in the middle of fastening falling off onto the floor.  
  
"What kind of question is that?" she said, trying to sound confident, but instead managing to   
sound like someone with a secret that had just been found out. Hermione's grin started to get   
wider.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" she asked innocently, "I mean to say, I haven't seen you this   
happy since you got here. What did you do last night?" she said, subconsciously glancing at the   
wash basket. Ginny stuttered and fell back onto the bed as she tried to hurriedly pull her   
clothes on.  
  
"It has nothing to do with last night," she shouted, her voice sounding muffled because she   
pulled a jumper over her head to hide the look on her face. When she could see Hermione again she  
got up and looked at her pointedly, "It is in fact the surprise party for Harry today, in case   
you'd forgotten. I just want his day to be special, that's all," she said not quite understanding  
herself! "If he does enjoy it then I'm not going to be the one to ruin it for him by moping about   
the house all day. Okay!" Without waiting for a response she flew out of the room hoping that   
Hermione accepted her answer.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ron woke quietly and pulled on his jeans and sweater in complete silence. He looked over to Harry   
still sleeping in his bed and smiled. He had woken to Harry pacing about the room late last night   
and he was sure that he had stayed up like that for a good two hours after he went back to sleep.   
That meant that it would be safe to leave him here; he would probably sleep through the racket   
they were going to make downstairs. Just in case though he took out his wand and pointed it at   
the bed. It was a little privilege of having finished your OWL's at Hogwarts that you were aloud   
to do spells which came under a certain grade. He pointed the wand at Harry's bed and surrounding  
area and whispered "Silentio..." This word enacted a spell that would make sure no sound got to   
Harry until he was awake. He would probably notice that the spell had been enacted then and it   
would lose its power. He smiled at his friend.  
  
"Your first proper birthday party Harry!" he whispered, forgetting that Harry couldn't hear   
anything, "We'll make it special for you my friend..." and he left the room closing the door   
quietly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As soon as Hermione had got down stairs she felt as if she had been transported into another   
world. The ceiling was covered in balloons of all shapes and sizes that floated around in   
pre-determined routines, held there by magic. There were floating candles everywhere and they   
parted and swirled around her as she walked slowly forward. Mrs. Weasley was still magically   
setting the table as she walked on and she was about to help her when there was a knock at the   
door. She opened it to a sight she hadn't seen in a long time. There stood Bill and Charlie,   
both wearing their work clothes and both with wide grins on their faces. Their faces dropped to   
looks of astonishment however when they got a good look at her.   
  
"Hermione girl..." said Bill as he hugged her and then stepped back, "You grew up!" The look of   
astonishment on their faces was almost enough to bring tears to their eyes as she hugged them   
both again. The Weasley boys always knew how to make her feel special. They picked her up and   
moved her out of the way and then put her down next to the table. It took Mrs. Weasley; who was   
very busy, a second to notice that they were there. When she did she let out a cry of joy and ran   
to grab her boys in a big Weasley hug. When they let go they were almost bowled over by a flash   
of arms and red hair as Ginny ran headlong into them and tried to hug around both of them at once.   
They looked at her and smiled awkwardly, but then they looked around for someone. Bill bent in   
close to Hermione's ear and whispered, "She hasn't had any interest from boys yet has she?"  
  
"Only one," she said smiling, "and I don't think you'll have to worry about him." Bill; looking   
satisfied that his over-protective big brother bit was done, smiled at her as she felt arms grasping   
her from behind.  
  
"Weren't trying to steal me away from her already were you Bill?" said Ron as he kissed the back   
of Hermione's head. Bill looked at him and smiled.  
  
"Oh no little brother," he said with an evil grin on his face, "I'm saving that for later!"   
Hermione expected Ron to blow up and try and kill him, but they both started laughing and Ron   
embraced them both like the brothers they were.  
  
"How long have we got before Harry comes down?" Ginny asked Ron, and she saw a strange smile on   
her face.  
  
"He'll be out for a few hours yet. And we don't have to keep it down; I put a silencing charm on   
his bed..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry walked through a house with no doors, that looked somehow familiar to him. He had seen it   
before but he couldn't remember where. He stroked his hand along the smooth wall until he felt   
something wet on his fingers. He turned his hand over and saw blood on his fingers. He looked   
back along the wall and saw four finger size trails of blood stretching back until he couldn't   
see the end of the corridor. He almost screamed as he jumped back into the opposite wall but   
jumped again as he hit something wet. He looked around to see that blood had started running down  
the walls. His head started spinning, the heady metallic smell attacked his senses almost making   
him sick; it had never had that effect on him before, apart from that one time...  
  
He twirled around looking but he already knew that she was there. She was standing there naked   
staring at him with those deep blue eyes, her black hair strewn about her head as if she had just   
been running or exercising, or... he knew where he was instantly, but as he tried to get away she   
was there, her hands grasped his arms. Suddenly he didn't want to move anymore, he felt himself   
smiling at her, and he felt his head moving towards her. He could feel his mouth opening as he   
started to kiss her neck. In a second he had bitten, blood flowed into his mouth and he delighted   
in it, never had he felt pleasure like that. Suddenly he was hit in the stomach, and he keeled   
over, cradling his abdomen and spitting blood onto the already wet floor. He looked up but he   
didn't see her. The girl no longer stood there. Instead, she had been replaced by an even more   
beautiful girl, whose neck bled all over her naked body. She looked up and brushed her long red   
hair out of her face and he was looking at Ginny.  
  
"Why Harry..." she croaked, blood streaming from her mouth as she coughed, "I loved you..." as   
she fell onto the floor dead, Harry started to scream...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry shot up in his bed still screaming. It took him a few minutes to realise that he wasn't   
there anymore, he was in Ron's house, not that dark wretched place. He looked around the bright  
orange room and smiled. This was definitely Ron's bedroom and he was safe here. But Ron wasn't   
there. By his reckoning it was about noon, so Ron should have been still sleeping. It was only on  
special occasions that Ron ever woke up before him. He was also surprised at how quiet it was.   
There were almost always a few birds outside the window chirping happily, and he could always   
hear stuff going on downstairs. Almost as soon as he thought about it, sound washed over him like   
a flood and he was bowled over by the sound of birds flying about outside. It took him a while to   
distinguish their shrill whistles, from the noise of activity downstairs, which sounded like   
everyone was trying to eat breakfast from the same bowl. He suddenly realised that no one had   
come to see him when he was screaming because someone had put a silencing charm on his bed, "But   
why would they do that?" he thought as he swung his legs over and placed them heavily on the   
floor. It was a good thing that he was a quick dresser because just as he finished putting his   
baggy black trousers on Hermione came bounding through the door. It was a mark of how much last   
summer had affected him that he didn't scream at her for running in when he could have been   
naked. Instead he just looked up at her and smiled. Before he could ask her who had put a   
silencing charm on her bed she sat down next to him and looked at him, her eyes searching for   
something to say to him.  
  
"Before you go down..." she said, her eyes searching the room in desperation, still looking for   
something to say, "I just wanted to know exactly what happened with that last girl. The one you   
have nightmares about?" she asked sounding desperate, the question had probably been the furthest   
from her mind. Harry just looked at her and smiled weakly. He really didn't want to talk about   
this right now. He wasn't ready, and after those two dreams last night, he was scared.  
  
"I've had a bad night Hermione, dreams that seemed so real... I'm really not in the mood to talk   
about this right now," he said, his eyes pleading with her to let him go. But now he had given her   
an opening, something to play with and question him about.  
  
"What were the dreams about?" he knew she was going to ask this question but he still dreaded   
answering it. He had hoped that talking to Hermione and Ron about the summer would have stopped   
them, made them all go away, but he had been wrong. Now Ginny was involved, though he didn't know   
how, and he was afraid things were going to get worse before long. He told Hermione about the last   
dream first, how he had felt like she had some kind of power over him and how she had turned into   
Ginny. This however didn't seem to phase Hermione, even when he told her about the blood drinking.   
But when he told her about the first dream; not leaving a detail out, she just smiled.  
  
"I thought so..." she said as she got up and knelt down in front of him, "The first one is nothing   
to be afraid of. You like Ginny! Ok so I think this summer has tainted your view of what normal sex   
is like but the message is the same. You like Ginny!" she squealed and hugged him. But Harry was   
scared of this to. He got up and started pacing the room.  
  
"I can't like Ginny, it wouldn't work, I've changed, Ron wouldn't let us, and she doesn't feel the   
same way!" with the last statement he sat back down. Saying it out loud had made him realised how   
many real problems there now were. Hermione however, just smiled at him in disbelief.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me! Ginny Weasley! The girl who very nearly did start the Harry Potter fan   
club in our second year! The Ginny Weasley who spent every day for the four years after that asking   
me why you didn't fancy her. The Ginny Weasley who spent every waking moment with you last year,   
because Ron and I were pretty much oblivious to anyone! The Ginny Weasl..." she stopped herself for   
saying any more and realised she had already said too much. She found herself happy that Harry was   
in a depressed state when he turned to her, with hope in her eyes.  
  
"That was then, this is now. Has she said anything about me recently?" he asked looking for an answer   
in Hermione's eyes. Hermione shrugged but put an encouraging tone in her voice.  
  
"Since her time spent with you last year she's become a lot more closed about her feelings and   
herself, obviously a trait she picked up from you! I can't get anything out of her," she said,   
hoping Harry would believe her. Harry knew what he was like; he never told people his problems or   
his fears if he thought he could deal with them himself. He just looked at Hermione and waited,   
hoping that the sadness on his face was enough to make her disclose anything, "I'm sure she still   
likes you though," she said a sly smile starting to creep across her face, "In fact if you follow me   
downstairs, you'll see what she's arranged for you and you'll be sure of it to," she said as she got   
up, gave him a peck on the cheek and skipped out of the room. Harry was suddenly intrigued. He rushed   
to get himself dressed and was about to run downstairs when he noticed the letter for Sirius still   
laying there on the sideboard. He got Hedwig out of his cage quickly and tied the letter to his leg.   
He gave Hedwig an Owl treat and let him go out of the window, before running out of his door and down   
the stairs. He didn't notice Hedwig turn sharply a few feet from the window and fly around and down to   
the front driveway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~   
  
"SURPRISE!" all the Weasley clan screamed as he hit the foot of the stairs. He looked up to see them   
all standing around the table, Ginny and her mother covered in flower but then boys stood there raising   
huge tankards of foaming butter beer, "A very late Happy Birthday to you Harry!" at this Harry felt as   
if he was going to cry. Everyone just smiled at him and the look in their eyes; one of familial love   
and friendship just sent him over the edge. He knew that this was the best Birthday; however late it was,   
he had ever had. Nothing could top it off now...  
  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Weasley motioned for Harry to join them as she walked   
towards the door, brushing her self down but Ginny grabbed her arm.   
  
"No mum!" she called, letting a strange smile play across her face, "I think it's for Harry. Let him get it,"   
with that she pulled her mum back and motioned for Harry to open the door. He looked at her, confusion   
showing on his face and headed for the door. As soon as he opened the door he was confronted by a mass of   
white feathers it took a while to focus on.  
  
"Hedwig?" he said confused as he looked behind the Owl. All however became clear as he looked into the   
face of his old DADA professor and family friend Remus Lupin. Hedwig was sent flying into the house as   
Harry pushed passed to hug Remus like a much loved uncle he hadn't seen in a long time. Remus just   
smiled and held Harry, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes now running down his face, "What   
are you doing here?" Harry asked as he finally broke the embrace. Remus silently passed him Ginny's   
letter and they moved into the House as he read it. He looked up smiling widely looking from face to   
face to find that Ginny was nowhere to be seen. He was about to ask where she was when Hedwig flew to   
his arm and gave him a nip on the ear. Harry noticed suddenly that Hedwig didn't have the letter. He   
turned on Remus quickly, "Why did Hedwig come to you?" he asked shocked, what had happened to Sirius?  
  
"Oh yes! Mr and Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if it would be alright to bring my pet dog inside, it has   
been a long journey and he's quite cold," as Mrs. Weasley nodded smiling, Remus whistled out the front door.   
Harry was almost immediately bowled over by a big black mass of hair. He looked up into the mouth of a dog   
that held his letter. He looked further up to see the smiling eyes of a dog he knew quite well, "Allow me   
to introduce Padfoot," Harry smiled as he looked up into the deep brown eyes of Sirius Black! 


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Read the first one!  
  
Thanks Mabel Weasley: I complimented you? Where?*wink wink* To answer your question,   
Harry did not become a vampire over the summer. It's not a stupid question because   
I've been wondering that myself, and I'm writing the damn thing!!! That confuses me   
to! People don't seem to realise that that's what ratings are there for. And if you   
don't look at them there's always words in the summary, like SLASH, YEOWIE, MELON, and   
my personal favourite, EXPLICIT SEX! If people miss these then their too blind to be   
reading the fic and shouldn't get offended anyway! *pants after he said all that in one   
breath* "Sorry 'bout that!"*does Hagrid impression* Anyway, where was I (I'm sure replies   
to reviews are not supposed to be this long, but you are the only reviewer) I think the   
whole thing with Ginny (which I obviously support) is that Harry's a nice guy, he's going   
to spend a lot of time with her in the future and he couldn't possibly not fall in love   
with her if she loves him. BUT Jo Rowling has supposedly said that there will be a H/Hr   
coupling in the future. If there is I will destroy the world! *laughs manically*   
Just kidding! Anyway, thanks for reviewing, as ever you are wonderful, please   
review this one!  
  
PS. I think your going to like what Remus and Charlie have to say in this one!   
  
Chapter 6.  
  
A bad feeling about this...  
  
Looking at Harry then, care free, smiling widely, laughing and giggling as the dog on  
top of him licked his face made Ginny remember him at better times. He was as carefree   
as he had been when he had first come to Hogwarts, she hadn't seen that smile on him   
since he had won the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor in her second year. He hadn't laughed   
like that since they had tickled each other into exhaustion before school finished. She  
missed the old Harry, maybe this party would bring him back. But she found herself  
wondering, how he knew the dog, she'd never seen it before, she didn't even  
know that Professor Lupin had a dog. He probably could have kept it in the school  
when he had been a teacher there three years ago. She wouldn't have known about it,  
Hogwarts was a big place. Harry however had spent a lot of time with Professor  
Lupin, he had probably met him then. Ginny smiled at Harry through the door of the  
kitchen and then turned around to look at the cake she had just finished making. It  
was perfect apart from one thing. Ginny took up the icer in her hands and started to  
write happy birthday. It was then that Hermione came in.  
  
"You've done a wonderful job!" she said shocked as she looked at the cake. Ginny  
beamed at her, she had made the whole thing herself with no use of magic what so  
ever. Hermione smiled at her and sat on the stool next to her, "Harry will love this! He  
was in a terrible mood when he woke up, but this should top of his day!" she said with  
a knowing look on her face. Ginny turned to her with concern on hers and tilted her  
head sideways.  
  
"Did it have something to do with him crying yesterday?" she asked, maybe she could  
get the information that she wanted from Hermione.  
  
"Oh... You saw that did you?" Hermione looked at her as if she had just been let in on  
some terrible secret, but she quickly got her feelings back in check, "It was something  
to do with that, just some bad dreams, that was all, it's all sorted now though..."  
Hermione stopped because she noticed the smile that Ginny couldn't stop from  
creeping across her face, "What's up with you today? Don't give me that flimsy  
excuse you did earlier either, is it about last night? Did you have one of your dreams  
to?" she asked with a sly smile on her face.  
  
"It was better this time," said Ginny not even blushing. She then proceeded to tell  
Hermione every sordid detail as she very carefully decorated Harry's cake. She  
jumped nearing the end though as Hermione let out a loud gasp and rushed to close  
the door to the living room. She twirled around quickly and leant against it to make  
sure that no one could get in.  
  
"Say that last bit again?" she asked, a strange look on her face that scared Ginny.  
  
"After he had... you know... I noticed the blood on his chest and started to lick it off.  
The taste seemed to get me... you know... all over again!" she said quite nervously.  
Hermione just stared at her with that look on her face, never changing.   
  
"Did you enjoy the last bit?" she asked whispering, "I mean did you want to do it or  
did you just find yourself doing it?" she looked intent on an answer so Ginny, too  
scared to question her just sighed and found herself smiling.   
  
"I remember deciding to do it! It just seemed so natural, and felt so good, you know?"  
she said, her smile growing constantly, "It just seemed so real and natural. Like we were   
both there at the same time, you know?"  
  
  
Hermione did know, she and Ron had experienced lucid dreams like that before. She had read   
up on them. Apparently a dream could exist between two people who loved each other in   
which they both had control over what they did. But this didn't sound like Ginny. Ginny,   
Ron's sweet little innocent sister couldn't possibly have wanted to do those things.   
Hermione forced a weak smile and set her jaw.  
  
"Are you absolutely sure that it was you who wanted to do that? I mean you didn't wake up   
in a cold sweat or anything?" Ginny just looked back at her quite perplexed.  
  
"No," she said shakily, Hermione was obviously scaring her, "I really enjoyed it, I slept   
more deeply after that than ever before!" she practically shouted at Hermione, her voice   
rising with her level of nervousness. Hermione finally found her smile again and hugged Ginny.   
She didn't want to let her go; could this thing with Harry have had a lasting effect on her?   
Would it hurt her?  
  
"I think it's time you told Harry how you feel about him. Today would be a good day for it..."   
she said a look of hope on her face. Miraculously this calmed Ginny down. In fact it put a   
smile on her face wider than it had been earlier.  
  
"What happened last night would be a good birthday present!" she said her eyes sparkling,   
"It would make up for it being late anyway…" and with that said she carried the finished   
cake into the living room. Hermione shuddered at the thoughts running through her head. Harry   
would never hurt Harry intentionally, but what would his link to Voldemort do to her? She   
walked after Ginny her eyes searching the room for Harry, Sirius and Lupin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry couldn't stop smiling, but it got even worse when Ginny walked into the room, covered   
in flower, holding his birthday cake. She had made it all from scratch, no magic involved. He   
was grinning like a Cheshire cat when she put it down in front of him.   
  
"You did this all for me? Why go to so much..." Ginny silenced Harry with a smile, strangely   
reminiscent of the smile from the dream last night, but she couldn't possibly have known about   
that? Could she?  
  
"I'll tell you later," she said softly, "but for now you eat!" she said a little louder than   
she realised, and everyone started at once. There was lots of food, different meats, cheeses   
that he had never heard of but was sure he had smelled in a wash basket somewhere, vegetables   
that were oddly reminiscent of the heads of muggle politicians and chocolates of all shapes   
sizes and of course, flavours! He stuffed his face while everyone spoke, being careful to   
leave enough room for a sizeable portion of Ginny's huge cake. Eventually however, he was   
dragged into the conversation by Mrs. Weasley who questioned Professor Lupin, sitting right   
next to him.   
  
"That dog seems very well behaved, is it magical?" she asked quite innocently as Padfoot sat   
as still as a statue next to Harry and Lupin not begging for a morsel of food. Harry looked at   
Lupin then at Ron and Hermione and they started giggling uncontrollably. Lupin however brought   
himself under control first.   
  
"It's only magical quality is that it has been around a long time. It belonged to Harry's father   
and I, when we were in Hogwarts," he said smiling at Harry. Harry couldn't help but smirk at the   
joke, "It's very well behaved because it's been with us for so long now that it knows us inside   
and out. It seems to have adopted Harry and his friends also. He's a very good guard dog, so Ron  
won't get into any trouble this year!" Mrs. Weasley smiled at him but after a moment of silence   
the kids all looked back at him. It took them a moment to realise what he had said.  
  
"What do you mean this year?" they all asked in unison. Lupin just smiled at them and placed   
his cutlery down on the empty plate.  
  
"I was going to mention it after the cake when we had a chance to talk more privately," he said   
glancing meaningfully at Harry, "But I see no reason to keep it a secret. Padfoot and I are   
returning to Hogwarts with you this year, I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher   
once again!" With this Ron let out a lot cheer followed by Ginny and Hermione rushing to tell   
him how wonderful it would be to have him there again. Harry just smiled at him and Padfoot. He   
had never been so happy in all of his life. He would be able to spend a whole year with Lupin and   
Sirius; his godfather, two people who had known his father better than anyone alive. And he would   
be there with Ginny, maybe this year something would happen, he felt as if anything was possible   
right now. But Charlie coughed loudly hushing the table. He stood up so everyone could see him   
and took a sip from his tankard of Butter beer.   
  
"I suppose now is the best time to tell everyone my news as well then," he smiled at his mother,   
"I've finished my job in Romania," at this his mother gasped in despair but Bill grabbed her hand   
and nodded encouragement at what Charlie had to say, "I've finished because they're sending me   
to Hogwarts with Norbert. I'm going to be your joint Care of Magical Creatures teacher with Hagrid!"   
With this the table erupted. Ron and Ginny ran over to their brother and hugged him tightly. Harry   
turned to Hermione and winked. She smiled back at him and he thought of Hagrid. Harry knew that   
Hagrid was going to cry when he saw a fully grown Norbert, he wondered if he knew yet?  
  
"After that wonderful news I think we should light the candles on the cake and Harry can make a   
wish... I got that right didn't I Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley as he took out his wand. Harry smiled   
as Mr. Weasley held up his wand and said "Incendio!" The candles immediately flared up, flames   
licked the end of Mr. Weasleys wand as Harry motioned to blow them out. But before the first breath   
was out of his lungs the candles started to sparkle. They burnt down very quickly as Harry noticed   
George and Fred smile slyly at him and duck under the table. Everyone seemed about to follow suit   
when the cake exploded!  
  
Harry looked around the table as he wiped his eyes clean, careful to make sure that none had got   
on his contacts. Everyone seemed to be in the same state as him, apart from Fred and George who   
were now creeping quietly away from the table. Mrs. Weasley coughed loudly, as she picked cake out   
of her hair. The twins turned around slowly, finding it impossible to hide the identical smiles on   
their faces. Mrs. Weasley was about to say something when Padfoot proceeded to lick the cake of   
Harry's face. Harry started to laugh as Lupin took a large piece from Ron's head and put it in   
his mouth.  
  
"Mmm Mmm... Delicious!" he said as he picked up another piece from the table and started to laugh   
heartily as he put it in his mouth. Harry looked around to see everyone trying to stifle giggles,   
until they all let it out. The entire room burst into energetic laughter, with Ron falling on the   
floor as Hermione leant on him. But as everyone held their sides, someone stood up quickly throwing   
their chair across the room. Silence fell as Harry looked up into Ginny's eyes, and saw fire there.   
She was perfectly clean but the look she gave George and Fred, was so dirty, he was sure they would   
curl up into balls on the floor and start sobbing.  
  
"Gin, it was a joke, no harm..." George was silenced by Ginny's eyes as they got wider.  
  
"You've ruined it!" she screamed at them. They tried to move towards her but she stepped back. Harry   
rose from the table and tried to brush some of the cake off.   
  
"It's okay Ginny. We're all enjoying ourselves, everyone laughed!" he said softly, immediately   
regretting it as she spun to look at him.  
  
"I didn't laugh!" she shouted at him, "I had to stop myself from crying! They've ruined it! It was   
perfect, I was going to make today special for you, and then… and then…" Harry looked into her pleading   
eyes, and stopped himself from asking her to continue. The moment had obviously gone for her, he would   
have to ask her later.  
  
"Ginny, its okay..." but she was gone through the kitchen before her name had come out of his mouth.  
  
"I think boys, that it's time we had a chat about what age you actually start having to grow up at,"   
Mrs. Weasley said as she glared at the twins. Bill and Charlie excused themselves after wishing Harry   
a Happy Unbirthday and went to explore the countryside, as they hadn't been home in a while. This just   
left Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lupin and Padfoot left sitting there.  
  
"Maybe I should go after her?" Harry thought to himself, as he motioned towards the door. As if Hermione   
knew what he was thinking, she got up and grabbed onto his arm.  
  
"Give her a little time…" she smiled weakly at Harry and turned him around, "We've got other matters   
to attend to first!" she said pointing at Lupin and Padfoot. Harry picked up his broom, and Ron grabbed   
his and they made their way to the Paddock, the others in tow. When everyone noticed the brooms gone   
they would not go anywhere near the paddock. Everyone knew the price of going up there during practice   
was usually a bludger to the head!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lupin transfigured some tree stumps into seats and sat down on them. With that Padfoot began his   
transformation back into Sirius. By the time they were all comfortable, Sirius was his normal self again   
and Harry embraced him. After a while of holding Sirius, Harry broke away and smiled at him. But Harry   
saw Sirius' face fall. He was concentrating on Harry and Harry knew that Sirius could see the darkness   
within him. Lupin broke the silence.  
  
"Not that it isn't nice to see you again Harry; I would love to just sit here carefree with you all day   
and talk about your family, something I know you would love to. But Hermione addressed it earlier, we do   
have some pressing matters to discuss…" he stared pointedly at Harry. Ron put his hand reassuringly on   
Harry's shoulder and squeezed. Harry looked at Lupin and Sirius and started to tell them all about last   
summer. He finished with his nightmares, conveniently leaving out his two most recent dreams, for Ron's   
sake. He found Sirius staring at him wide mouthed, but Lupin had adopted the same look Hermione had when   
he had first told them.  
  
"You are your parent's son Harry!" Sirius said immediately. Harry couldn't help but smile at this, even   
though he didn't really understand it. But he frowned when Lupin grabbed Sirius' arm and motioned for him   
to be quiet.  
  
"What did he mean by that?" Harry asked staring intently at them both. Sirius smiled weakly but Lupin   
looked even more serious than before.  
  
"Harry, I beg you not to ask us any more questions about this until we are at Hogwarts. We need Professor   
Dumbledore there, only then can we help you to fully understand what is happening to you," Lupin said to   
Harry, his jaw set but his eyes pleading with him. Harry sat back in his seat, as Lupin rose to leave,   
"I must send and urgent letter to Albus Sirius, are you coming?" he asked as he walked towards the wall   
of trees.  
  
"I'll catch you up!" he called after him and then sat on the arm of Harry's tree-chair, "Now I want you   
to forget all this, and try and remember a long time ago, when you were one year old. Try and remember a   
dream, where you were flying in the arms of a Giant, the wind curling around you, a deep hum beneath you..."   
Harry had closed his eyes as Sirius had started speaking and now he could see what looked like a city at night,   
from above, "Now I want you to concentrate on the hum beneath you and say with your wand, 'Accio Bike!'"   
Harry spoke almost the same time as Sirius, he was so sure that of what was going to be said. Almost   
immediately a large black bike, with no rider came crashing through the trees, it pulled up next to Harry   
and gave a loud rev of its engine. Harry stared at it and marvelled at it suddenly remembering what he had   
heard Hagrid once say about Sirius.  
  
"This is your bike, the one I was flown on the night my parents..." Sirius smiled at him and Harry couldn't   
bring himself to say the word, it was such a happy moment.  
  
"It's your bike now Harry!" Sirius explained loudly, "Lupin pulled a few strings at the ministry, its this   
years birthday present now that your old enough!" Harry shot up out of his chair and jumped onto the bike.   
It moved underneath him, threatening to take off, but he could control it. When it came to flying objects   
that you could ride, there wasn't anyone better than Harry, "But you must promise me something..." Sirius   
said as Harry felt his hand on his back, "You must ride this to Hogwarts this year!"  
  
"But Sirius, I'm not allowed, we tried it in a car..." Harry tried to say but Sirius stopped him with a   
sly smile.  
  
"It has a disillusionment charm on it. Muggles won't be able to see you this time..." he let his voice   
fade out as Harry turned back to the bike, "I'm going to go and help Remus, you fly around on it,   
practice, have fun!" he said as he disappeared from sight. Ron marvelled at the bike but as soon as   
Sirius was out of earshot Harry turned to Hermione.  
  
"There's something wrong here," Hermione looked at him as if agreeing but she didn't really know why,   
"Firstly, their both going back to Hogwarts this year, which would have caused Dumbledore a lot of trouble   
with the ministry. Not so much for Sirius because they don't know about him, but letting a werewolf back   
in after the attack last time," he said trailing off as they all remembered what happened in their third   
year, "Secondly, Dumbledore is bringing a fully grown Norwegian Ridgeback to the castle. Not only is that   
dodgy because of the trouble he would have had with the Ministry but it's obviously for defence against   
something. Last but not least, this bike," he said patting the petrol tank affectionately, "They would have   
had a lot of trouble getting the Ministry to let me, Harry Potter, ride convicted criminal, Sirius' bike.   
But the strange thing is, they made me promise to ride the bike to Hogwarts. That means they don't want   
me to go on the train. Why?" Ron looked astounded, but that was only because he was probably about ten   
sentences back. Hermione however looked impressed, it was normally her who worked out the ins and outs of   
a problem first, never Harry, "Something big is going to happen at Hogwarts this year!" he said pointedly   
as he stared at them both. Ron finally caught up and shook his head in disbelief.   
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Ron said as Harry got off the bike. Harry looked at him as they started   
to move towards the trees.   
  
"You can say that again," said Hermione as she took his hand. Ron turned and smiled weakly to Harry and was   
about to repeat himself when there was a dry snap from in front of them. A twig had been stepped on and now   
that they looked they could see a dark shape hiding in the trees. They had their wands out instantly, and   
Harry moved towards the trees. Ron covered his back but looked at Hermione, his face betraying how scared   
he was at this present moment in time.  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Thanks for all the faithful reviewers 1!!! Not that I'm unhappy or anything but I know that people are   
reading this. If you don't like it enough to give me a good review then tell me where I'm going wrong and   
how I can appeal to your interests! Please REVIEW!!!  
  
Also Mabel Weasley: Have you added me to your favourite authors list cos I know I'm on one persons and I'd   
love to know who likes my writing that much... 


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Read the first one. Also Ginny's Poetry is the lyrics from a song by my favourite band Inkkubus Sukkubus!  
  
Tanks for the reviews:  
  
Doodlewaber: They won't get in that much trouble; I don't connect with their characters enough so they'll only be in   
it a bit. They've opened a shop in Hogsmeade so when the other characters visit, be prepared for lots of practical jokes,   
with Ron as the victim.  
  
Anja: Okay, I suppose that's a good enough reason. I suppose I can forgive you! Thanks for the review. Please do it more!   
Reviews from people who like my story compel me to keep writing. If I don't get any reviews then I'm going to stop!  
  
Mabel Weasley: Thanks again. As ever your reviews make me feel better about the story and my writing skills. Thanks also   
for admitting to the fact that you actually want Ginny to tell Harry her feelings. I'm really trying hard to make the   
emotional struggle as believable and realistic as possible. Also now that you've said that I to seem to remember something   
about Molly being in the hospital wing, but as I'm such an excellent writer *whatever* I think that I can rectify that   
situation in this Chapter, without mentioning GoF so as not to commit myself if we both end up being wrong! Thanks for   
noticing! No one else did! And they call themselves fans! *Pah*  
  
New chapter now up! I'm sorry if their getting to long for you but please take the time to read and review! Enjoy!!!   
  
Chapter 7.  
  
The Pains of Love.  
  
'Let's have you show some grief,  
For the fools, let your hearts bleed,  
For those who are lost in love,  
Those who cry for a lovers lies,  
Wipe the tears from your eyes,  
Don't cry for love.  
Young lovers suffer the pains of Love...'  
  
Ginny stared at the poem she had written in her diary; the tears that ran off her face threatening to smudge the ink, and   
thought of Harry. She had written a lot of poetry about Harry recently, though none of it was very good. She motioned to   
crumple the piece of paper and tear it out of the diary when she heard voices. She turned around and watched Harry, Ron,  
Hermione and Professor Lupin walk into the Paddock flanked by the faithful Padfoot. She sighed heavily before moving around   
the tree so they couldn't see her.   
  
When she had run out of the living room earlier, she had noticed no one had followed her. She hadn't wanted anyone to   
follow her, but she found herself longing for Harry to come out and ask her what she had been trying to say. She felt a   
need to tell him everything, how she felt, about the dreams, but she knew that no good could come of it. If he felt the   
same way, then there had been nothing to stop him coming after her, had there?  
  
She glanced around the tree to see Lupin transfigure a few of the centre tree stumps into chairs for them all to sit down.   
He looked quite serious as did many of them as they tried to make themselves comfortable. Maybe there was a reason that he   
hadn't followed her out, she thought as she ducked back behind the tree again. They all looked quite serious, maybe Harry   
had sent a letter to them as well. Maybe they had something really important to talk about. She looked down at her terrible   
attempt at a poem and sighed. More important than friends, more important than her...  
  
She kicked herself for thinking that she held any importance in Harry's life. How could she, he had practically ignored her   
since he had got there. The only full sentences he had tried to say to her were today and then he hadn't completed them.   
She tried to convince herself that it had nothing to do with the fact that she cut him off, and that he just found it hard   
to talk to her. She tried to convince herself that he wasn't worth the effort of talking to or being depressed about. But   
nothing would work; she even tried imagining Harry flying his broom at a hundred miles per hour into brick wall. She tried   
to laugh at this but in her day dream she ended up picking him up off the floor, nursing him back to health, and then riding   
off into the sunset with him. She sighed and smiled at the thought. Maybe one more glance at him wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't   
be like she was spying or anything, she had been here first. She looked around the tree again and stifled a scream at what   
she saw. There in the clearing Sirius Black was trying to crush Harry in his arms, and everyone just sat there and watched.  
  
She jumped up, careful to stay hidden, and looked around for help. But it was in vain, they were pretty secluded up there,   
there was no way that she could go for help without them noticing. She sat back down in horror. If she didn't do something   
soon then Harry was going to die, and probably her brother and Hermione to. Lupin wasn't helping either, in fact he seemed   
to be talking to Sirius. She would have cursed herself there and then if she'd had her wand on her. How could she have   
invited that murderer into her house? If only she had never written that letter then Harry would have been safe. Was Lupin   
really going back to Hogwarts? Were they all in league with Voldemort? She knew that by now Harry was dead but she found   
herself moving to glance around the tree again. She didn't want to see him lying there on the floor, but some sick   
fascination overwhelmed her and she had to make sure. She glanced around the tree to a sight that shocked her. Harry was   
alive, sitting comfortably, with Sirius sitting on the tree stump very close to him!  
  
Harry seemed to be talking to Lupin, a very serious look on everyone's faces. She twirled and hid herself again. How could   
this be? Her brother, Hermione, and the boy she loved all in league with the dark lord? She threw the idea out of her head   
as soon as it had manifested himself. Snape had to have been right in her 2nd year, they had to be under a charm; there was   
no other explanation for it. Black had been responsible for the death of Harry's parents, he couldn't possibly have worked   
for him otherwise! If that was so, maybe there was a way for her to break the charm, then they would all tell her parents   
and Black would go back to Azkaban. It was a plan. The fact that she had thought about it all by herself made her feel   
better, regardless of the fact that she had no way of implementing it. She glanced back around the tree and noticed that   
Lupin was gone. But Sirius was sitting closer to Harry. Harry had his wand out, but his eyes were closed, and Sirius was   
whispering into his ear. To Ginny it was obvious that Harry was being put back under the spell. Maybe he had broken its   
power, that's why he had his wand out; the dark arts had never worked to well on Harry. But Sirius was a powerful dark a  
rtist, maybe he had to keep replenishing the curse, every so often. She slumped back against the tree. She wallowed in self   
pity again as she realised there was no way for her to save them. For some strange reason, through her tears she found   
herself writing again...  
  
'Underneath a winter's moon,  
The end has come too soon,  
And filled the world with pain,  
In the night and in the day,  
The pain won't go away,  
Won't set us free from love.  
Young lovers suffer the pains of love...'  
  
She stared at what she had written and the tears came more freely now. The pain in her heart reflected what the words were   
trying to tell her. There was no way she could help. Even if she had told her dad about this, they were two very powerful   
wizards; they could take him out in a flash. She was about to look back again to see if they had gone when a loud roar from   
behind shocked her into jumping back. It was a good thing to as just at that second a great black motorbike flew into the   
trees and moved towards Harry. As she looked at it pull up next to Harry, and noticed the expression on his face, she   
wondered if the spell caster had to give gifts to his victims in order to keep them compliant. Harry was definitely back   
under the spell as they all seemed deep in conversation when Sirius finally left. Suddenly as she watched them they began   
to move to go back to the house. This wouldn't have been that shocking except for the fact that they were headed directly   
towards her. She got up to run but after she had moved only two steps, there was a loud snap. She looked down and saw a   
broken twig beneath her foot. She could hear her brother mumble something behind her and she closed her eyes, hoping for a   
way out. But they wouldn't kill her, would they?   
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry stepped carefully towards the tree that he was sure the sound had come from. His wand was held ready and he was   
rehearsing the disarmament curse in his head. He could feel the build up of magical energy in his wand as he thought about   
it; he was obviously getting better at this. There was a sound, movement behind the tree, an obvious shadow lengthening, and   
suddenly a person appeared.  
  
"Expell..." he drew his wand to the side as he saw who the spy was and caused a small tree to his right to explode in a   
thousand tiny pieces. He stared at the devastation for a while, before realising that a tree could be many wands, and his   
curse had separated them all. He turned back to the silent figure in front of him as a hail of wand shaped splinters fell   
softly around them, "Ginny?" Immediately she fell to her knees, sobbing, and staring, in fear, at the spot where the tree   
used to be. She mumbled something incoherent and Harry stared at her wide eyed as the tears seemed to flow from her like a   
waterfall. She looked up as if to repeat herself.  
  
"Please don't... kill me!" she said wailing, while her head sank back into her hands. Harry realised that they were all   
still pointing their wands at her and he quickly put his back into his coat. Ron and Hermione followed suit as he moved   
towards Ginny and knelt down in front of her.  
  
"Why in the name of all the Gods would we want to do that?" Ron said, a look of deep concern spreading across his face.   
Harry looked at her and cupped her chin in his hand, gently lifting her eyes until they met his. She had stopped crying   
but now she looked on him in fear.  
  
"Because your all... being controlled... by Sirius Black!" she said between sobs and jerked her head away from Harry's hand.   
With this Harry stared at her in stunned, amazement, a smile spreading across his face. Ron however burst out laughing, and   
Hermione stifled a fit of giggles in an effort to make Ginny feel better.  
  
"What... on earth... makes you think that?" Ron managed to say between deep booming laughs. Harry however, took on a more   
serious look when he turned to them.  
  
"Why don't you two go back to the house?" he said cocking his head in the direction of the trees, "I'll deal with this..."   
Ron looked on the verge of asking him why when Hermione grabbed him and pulled him away. After a wink at Harry, they were   
gone from sight.  
  
"Sirius... was here... he tried to kill you..." she said, not sounding as sure as she had been a little while ago. Harry   
chuckled light heartedly and sat down next to her, pulling her closer. She looked confused now more than scared, and she   
looked at him for the answers.  
  
"Before I start, your not going to interrupt are you? No matter what I say?" he asked her as he stared deep into her eyes.   
She shook her head, careful not to break his gaze, "Sirius is innocent," she gasped, but after a few seconds let Harry carry   
on with no interruption, "He never told Voldemort about my parents, it was someone else that they knew... anyway... We're   
not under a spell, your parents already know about him," he said smiling, she looked like she was starting to believe him   
but she still needed more convincing, "Look," he said reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a piece of parchment. Ginny   
opened it to see that it was the Hogsmeade trip permission form. It was signed by Sirius black. She looked back at him in   
shocked realisation, but he still continued to help her along, " Do you think that Dumbledore would accept this if he Sirius   
was guilty? Do you think that he would let Sirius and Lupin back into Hogwarts if they were going to kill me?" Finally her   
gaze shifted from Harry to her feet. She believed him, but now she felt extremely foolish. Harry could see it in the way   
she slouched those delicate shoulders looked so dejected, "I know what will make you feel better... Come on!" he said as he   
pulled her to her feet and dragged her towards the bike.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny screamed as the bike roared beneath her. But it was an excited scream as she flew high over the clouds, and then dived   
into them. Harry she had to admit, really knew how to handle himself up here. With the thin air whipping at them and him   
screaming his head off because no one could hear him, she smiled. He seemed so liberated up here, at peace, like he was one   
with the clouds.  
  
"So what do you think? Feel better now?" he called back to her as they did a loop the loop, causing a cloud curl around them.   
She hugged him tighter in reply and he steered down coming to settle on the cloud as if it was a road. 'No not a road, a   
hilltop,' she thought as she looked out at the setting sun. The clouds were lit up so beautifully that she was sure heaven   
would look like this. Suddenly as if she had only just realised that the sun was going down, she jerked Harry who looked   
back at her questioningly.  
  
"It's late! We must have been up here for hours!" she said frantically, hoping that she would not miss supper.  
  
"It's not that late, we've only been up here for six..." he said trailing off as he looked at his watch, "maybe we should go   
back now!" he said motioning to pull off. Ginny suddenly grabbed him and he stopped. They had been up here for six hours;   
the best six hours of her life, they shouldn't really spoil it now by rushing back.  
  
"Drive along the clouds," she said with a dreamy smile, "We can chase the sunset..." Harry seemed to realise what she wanted   
and cruised slowly along the clouds, the setting sun ever changing their view; red, gold, orange, yellow, and finally the   
colour of dusk. The sun had defeated them, it had set too quickly and it was time to get back.  
  
"Well what do ya' know? We're right above the house!" said Harry as he looked between a gap in the clouds. He smiled wickedly   
and she knew that this was not gonna end with a quiet slow descent. With a wolf's howl he pushed the handlebars straight   
down, and she held on for dear life as they entered a nose dive.  
  
  
"Mum their fine! Their probably still talking!" Ron called as he walked out into the garden following Mrs. Weasley closely.  
  
"They've been gone for six hours Ronald!" Ron winced. He didn't think his mum was that upset, but then she went and called   
him Ronald; it was time to duck and cover. He didn't know how true that statement had been when he found himself jumping out  
of the way of a huge black shape as it came in to land right next to him. He looked up to see Harry's bike with a windswept   
Harry and Ginny riding it. He smiled at them but almost immediately regretted it.  
  
"Mr. Harry Potter," she said with so much malice she did an excellent impression of Snape, "Where did you think you were   
taking my daughter on that wretched contraption?" Ron saw Harry sigh loudly as Ginny opened her mouth to explain.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It didn't take long for Ginny to calm her mother down, she smiled inwardly. After all these years of getting into trouble   
with her brothers she had become a master at it. Her mother was happier to see them safe than she was angry, and when they   
both finally got off the motorbike, her anger seemed to disappear all together. Ginny smiled as her mum dragged a scared   
Ron back into the kitchen to help her make supper. She turned to looked at him; he was so close their bodies almost touched.   
He looked down at her and smiled, a smile that Ginny had never seen on him before. He looked scared, but at the same time   
resolute, he wanted to say something. Suddenly Ginny gasped.   
  
'This is it!' she thought as she looked deep into his eyes, 'He's about to ask me to go out with him, He feels the same way   
I do!' She didn't even try and hide the look of expectance on her face...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
This was probably why Harry backed down. He hugged her tight just so he wouldn't have to stare into those eyes. If he did,   
he might spill his guts and end up hurting her.   
  
'She probably doesn't feel the same way about me anyway,' he thought to himself dismally and he said it again, "You're my   
best friend Gin," he didn't even wait for her to move or reply; he just grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. He didn't   
notice the tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
As they walked into the living room Harry noticed that everyone was staring at Ginny, even Sirius, but as Padfoot. He turned   
to her and smiled and then turned back to everyone.  
  
"It's okay now, she understands," he said pointedly at Lupin and Padfoot. At this Padfoot started to change back into Sirius   
and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief that they didn't have to pretend anymore.  
  
  
'Harry probably won't notice if I'm not here, no one will,' Ginny thought to herself as she edged towards the stairs. Harry   
was deep in conversation with Sirius and Lupin about how cool the bike was, Ron was desparately trying to keep his hands off   
Hermione in front of his parents, the rest of the family were engrossed in a family game of exploding poker! She moved   
upstairs and as soon as the sound was more muffled, the tears started to threaten again. How could she have been so stupid,   
to think that Harry Potter could ever love her? It was late she knew so she just fell onto the bed in an attempt to cry   
herself to sleep. As soon as she hit the mattress she winced. There was something in the front of her baggie black hooded   
sweater, that was now digging awkwardly into her stomach. She pulled it out of the front pocket and realised it was her   
diary. A few of the pages were folded up at the corners; from where she had fallen on it, and as she opened the diary to   
straighten them out it fell open to the poems she had written today, 'May as well finish it...' she thought to herself as her   
sobs got louder and tears started to run down her face...  
'In a field of marble stones,  
Lie one long dead lover's bones,  
Forgotten, dead and gone,  
Sorrows tale is on her lips,  
The icy blade where love once kissed,  
The blood runs cool inside,  
Young lovers suffer the pains of love...'  
  
Ginny fell asleep just as her tears started to touch the paper... 


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Read the first one! Also Harry's summer friends are mine!  
  
Thanks to: klb14345: your reviews are great, but say more, there has to be something you don't like about the story,   
something you want me to change! Anything?  
  
Mabel Weasley: As ever, thank you! I bet no one else would have bothered to help! And I'm glad you liked that, as I said   
before, if it works for me it'll work for Harry. Of course I didn't chicken out when it came to asking my girlfriend out but   
anyway... R+R this one should be fun!  
  
Chapter 8.  
  
Anyone but her...  
  
Harry woke up in the morning to the blast of orange that he had come to know and love. He did a check with a glance that he   
was actually in Ron's room and not still dreaming and looked around at the floor. There was an empty black sleeping bag in   
between his and Ron's beds that last night had been inhabited by Sirius black. A few years ago he was a wanted criminal, one   
that most wizards wanted to kill or see in Azkaban. A few days ago he had become a Weasley family friend, one that they   
would very probably die for. After Harry had told Ginny, the last Weasley who didn't know of his innocence about him, he was   
able to walk around all the time as a man, not a dog. He had quickly fit in with the rest; Sirius, Remus Lupin and Arthur   
Weasley being old friends. That had been his best birthday present ever, apart from Sirius' bike. Not because it was a bike,   
but because of what he had done and who he was with, the first time he rode it...  
  
He looked over at Ron's bed to see it empty; Ron must have woken up extra early to make Hermione breakfast in bed, like he   
said he was going to. Harry smiled to himself as he put on his extremely baggy black cords, his black and red fishnet top   
and his dragons hide boots. He could vaguely make out his contacts on the shelf and was about to grab them when he saw his   
coloured ones. They were going to Diagon Alley today; he may as well go all out! He walked over to the mirror and put them   
in. After making sure they were secure, he took out his wand and pointed it at his trunk.  
  
"Accio Make-up!" immediately a small black bag flew out of his trunk into Harry's left hand. He pulled out the eyeliner and   
held it close to his eye. He stopped for a second. Was he doing this for himself? Or was he doing this on the off chance that  
he might see his other friends today, sitting in the alley outside the Leaky Cauldron as they always seemed to? He banished   
that thought as soon as it arose, there was no way he could be doing it for them. They had ruined his life a hundred times   
over, he never wanted to see them again! He couldn't help but smile however when he heard Ron singing the Qudditch anthem as   
he strode upstairs. Harry just finished applying his lipstick as Ron knocked loudly on the door.  
  
"Wake up Harry! It's time to go!" he said as he sheepishly opened the door. Ron had gotten the shock of his life the first   
night Harry had slept here this summer, when he walked in to find Harry getting out of bed. It was not the fact that he was   
already awake before Ron had called him; even though Harry liked to sleep in. He was shocked to find that Harry had started   
sleeping naked, and was there standing in front of Ron as bare as the day he was born. From then on he had always knocked   
before walking into his own room, just in case. This time though Harry greeted him fully dressed and ready. Ron just stood   
there in awe. He had never seen Harry wearing make-up, and still had a hard time getting used to his contacts, "I'd never   
have thought that make-up would ever look good on a guy!" he said grinning. Harry knew that Ron was poking fun in a friendly   
way, but also that he meant it.   
  
"What do you think of the new hair?" asked Harry as he did a twirl. He had waited until Ron had gone to sleep last night and   
pulled out his wand to change his hair. Now, instead of black spikes with red tips that hung down to passed his chin, there  
were red streaks all through it.  
  
"You better not stay here anymore Harry," Ron said with a mischievous grin spreading across his face, "Your turning more and   
more Weasley everyday! And we can't have that if you've got your eye on Ginny!" Ron laughed to himself, but Harry hung his   
head. Ron saw this and a look of sudden realisation came over his face, "You've had that face since the party, is it because   
of her?" Harry looked up at him, expecting another mischievous smile on Ron's face but Ron looked concerned and Harry was   
sure it was not for him, "Sit down Harry..." he said as he motioned Harry to his bed.  
  
"What is it Ron?"  
  
"This thing with Ginny," Ron began and Harry raised his hand to stop him going any further. But Ron looked at him and Harry   
got the feeling he wouldn't take kindly to being interrupted. he put his hand down and let Ron continue, "At first I thought   
it was silly, and you couldn't possibly be serious. But I have noticed you together, and I kinda guessed that you've walked   
around depressed for the last couple of days because of her. So, as her brother I'm saying that you end this now..."   
  
Harry sat back shocked. Ron was warning him off and his voice was no longer friendly, in fact it was filled with threatening   
intent. But Ron looked at him suddenly, teary eyed, a pleading look in them, and Harry understood how much it had hurt Ron to   
say that. And now he understood why. Harry had told Ron, like he had told Hermione, Lupin and Sirius all about this summer.   
After that no brother would want Harry going anywhere near his little sister, and Harry found himself starting to agree. How   
could he have ever thought that he could trust himself around Ginny, with his body possibly under Voldemorts control.   
  
He could have kicked himself for being so stupid but just at that moment Ron put his arm around Harry's shoulder's, "However,   
you could use all the friends you can get!" he said smiling, this one strong and genuine. Harry nodded back at him and they  
hugged, just as Hermione came bursting into the room. After she glared somewhat jealously at Harry's make-up, Ron looked up   
and she gave him a long passionate kiss, as Harry; still sandwiched in between them, struggled to breathe. When he began   
coughing loudly, Hermione disengaged with a satisfied grin on her face and with some effort, pulled them both to their feet.  
  
"Time to go now or we won't be able to get through the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron without bumping into someone like   
Neville along the way!" she said urging them to the bedroom door. With one last look in the mirror at his perfect make-up, he  
followed Hermione and Ron out of the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny looked at the pot on the coffee table in front of her and waited silently. She was confused as to why they were not   
aloud to go alone this year if they were last year. She fumed as she heard the sound of heavy steps in Ron's room. They were   
both awake, on a day like this Ron would not have let him sleep. But Ginny found herself wishing he would. She had spent the   
last three days trying to forget about their bike ride, about Harry raising her hopes up, leading her on and then tossing   
her aside. She felt as if he was used to it, but didn't understand why. In fact, since he had got here, she had realised that   
there was a lot about Harry that she didn't understand, and some she really didn't want to. He had been so happy before   
school broke up, what happened this summer to make him like this. She banished the question from her mind, she didn't know   
and she didn't care. If Harry was going to leave her out of something so important then she had no time for him. Just then   
Mrs. Weasley walked into the room.  
  
"Hello Ginny dear. Is everyone ready?" she asked, obviously talking about Harry and the others, because they were the only   
ones going.  
  
"I don't know do I!" she said, her voice angrier than she would have liked when speaking to her mum. When her mum wheeled on   
her violently Ginny just smiled, "Sorry, I just sent Hermione upstairs to check on them... But mum, can't I go on my own?" she   
asked, her eyes pleading with her mothers set features.  
  
"No Ginny. The reason we're all going together this year is because the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron has caved in.   
There's no way through, so we're going to come out in an old house across the street. I'm there to see that you don't get   
into any trouble. There will be lots of Muggles about..." Ginny quickly stifled an argument. She was sure that Harry and   
Hermione could make sure they were okay, but that would mean having to spend a few hours with no one to talk to but Harry as   
Ron and Hermione would obviously pair off, too wrapped up in each other to realise where they were. Jus then she heard the   
three upstairs, running downstairs. As they came Remus and Sirius emerged from the kitchen with lots of plates in their   
hands. They had been making breakfast, and Ginny had to say, that Sirius did look quite fetching in her mothers pink apron.   
Ron stifled a giggle as Harry took the plates from them and they all sat down on the couch next to Ginny. Harry she noticed,   
was sitting furthest away. The adults spoke quietly and then came and congregated around them, smiling.  
  
"These came for you this morning, Dumbledore's sorry they're a bit late," said Remus as he handed Harry and Hermione letters.   
Ron looked shocked as he saw the initials after their names on the envelopes, HB and HG and they could defiantly make out the   
badges in the envelopes. Ginny however turned to her food and ignored the excited banter around her. She had avoided looking   
at Harry since he had got to the bottom of the stairs but now it was becoming harder. She wanted to hate him, she wanted to   
want him out of her life, but it was impossible. She couldn't lie to anyone very well, especially herself. She was just too   
honest; and if she was honest to herself she knew that she couldn't live without him in her life. After she finished her   
food, she was about to get up and take her plate to the kitchen when Ron spoke to her.   
  
"Look at them Gin, what do you reckon? Should they go on the tie or on the robe?" she was forced to look at Hermione first   
and saw her smile expectantly. She thought that the badge would look better on their robes, it would be easier to see, but   
when she was forced to look at Harry she forgot all about badges. He looked at her smiling, his face unreadable beneath his   
pale skin and black make-up. His eyeliner seemed to make his eyes shine, as if he trying to penetrate her very soul with a   
stare, "Gin, are you okay?" Ron's voice brought her back to reality but she had completely forgotten what they had been   
talking about, it had been something about badgers hadn't it?  
  
"Badgers are Hufflepuff though, aren't they?" she was shocked to see everyone on the room staring at her confused.  
  
"Badgers? What's up with you Gin?" asked Hermione as she got up to get a closer look. Ginny had no idea how she was going to   
get out of this. She had just made a complete fool of herself and for the life of her she couldn't come up with a reason.   
Until Harry got up and gingerly put his arm around her.  
  
"She probably didn't get much sleep. You know Ginny, she's probably still dreaming!" to everyone in the room it sounded like   
Harry was taking the piss out of her. This she did not take kindly to and she was about to throw his arm off and shout at him   
when he gave her a knowing look and took the plate out of her hand. Did Harry know how she felt? She thought as he collected   
everyone's empty plate and walked towards the kitchen. Did Harry know why she had been staring at him so intently? Did he do   
that because he felt the same way? She laughed and looked at everyone smiling at her, but really she laughed at herself. How   
could he know? How could she have possibly thought that he felt the same way?  
  
After a while they all started talking about the school list. Harry Hermione and Ron would be needing The Book Of Spells.   
There was no grade on it, which confused many of them except Lupin, who just smiled knowingly and avoided their questions.   
More suprising however was the fact that they had left out one very important book; there was no DADA text, for them or for   
her. Again Lupin avoided the questions by saying plainly, "All will be made clear when you get there..." No one questioned   
him further on this. They would have more time for that on the train, when Ginny's mum wasn't there, maybe what he had to say   
would frighten her? In no time at all it was time to go.  
  
"We have been given an arrival window of the next fifteen minutes. We all need to be out of here by then, there will be a lot   
of people trying to fit through today! We're going to the Other Place," there was a chuckle at the name of the place as   
Ginny's mum as she opened the pot on the table and started to pass it around. Ginny took up a pinch of Floo powder and   
approached the fire. She threw it in and instantly the fire flared up and turned green, its flames licking at her ankles.   
She smiled at the others lingering a little on Harry; she wanted to kiss those lips so much, and then turned into the fire.  
  
"The Other Place!" she shouted and immediately found herself spinning, until she thought she was going to throw up. She hated   
travelling by Floo powder, she would have much rather been on the back of Harry's bike, holding him tightly. She smiled at   
this as the fire spewed her out at the other end and forgot to stop herself. Instead of falling though, she was caught by a   
very large dark man who smiled a perfect white smile and put her down on her feet. He must have been the guard of the fire   
because he silently pointed through a door, where there seemed to be a small living area, a waiting area. Ginny sat down on   
the comfortable but dusty couch and starting reading an issue of Witch weekly. She pretended not to notice when she heard the   
fire flare up again and Harry popped his head around the door. When she looked up she saw him smiling down at her.   
  
"Did you get here okay? You didn't fall?" he sat next to her, and she smiled at his concern. Why did he care so much, it   
wasn't like she could have broken anything. She smiled weakly back at him and they sat in silence as they waited for everyone   
to arrive. Her mum came last and almost fell over in shock as she saw how dusty they all were. She pulled out her wand and   
was about to clean them when the guard silently took it off her. Ginny thought her mum looked about to explode as she looked   
at the guard, but he silently pointed at the wall opposite them. Ginny saw a huge wall length window. They could obviously   
be seen by the multitude of muggles that passed the window continuously. Her mum blushed deeply and hurried to put her wand   
back in her pocket. She looked around for her bearings and Ginny noticed the front entrance of the Leaky Cauldron across the   
road.  
  
"Come on then!" her mum said and she almost dragged them out of the dusty room and into the street. They moved quickly across   
the road, the many muggle cars avoiding the party without the drivers even noticing. When they stepped onto the pavement   
outside the Leaky Cauldron Ginny was about to open the door, when a loud young voice shouted from nearby.  
  
"HARRY!" she turned to see a boy as tall as Harry and Ron sprinting across the road, a group of Goths following slowly. Her   
mum looked horrified as he winked at her before turning to Harry, "Harry, haven't seen you in a while, where've you been?"   
Ginny looked at his clothes. He was wearing close on what Harry was but she was sure that his trench-coat was not made of   
dragons hide. Her mum coughed loudly as the group caught up and they all looked at her.  
  
"Are you going to introduce us Harry?" she said politely, obviously not really wanting an introduction. Harry proceeded to   
explain that he had met them at the beginning of summer, and that they were his friends. Ginny however, couldn't help but   
notice the conflict in his voice when he called them "friends!" Her mum visibly calmed down, but Harry looked horrified,   
along with Ron and Hermione when her mum made a suggestion, "If they've missed you Harry, you four can stay with them, I'll   
get your things!" before Harry could protest, as Ginny was sure he wanted to her Mum disappeared into the Leaky Cauldron.   
Ginny turned back expecting to see Harry's friends smiling, but the boys looked angry, while the girls looked hurt. Ginny   
watched one of the girls; Katie, Harry had said, walk over to him and drape herself over him.  
  
"Why you no say goodbye Harry-san?" she might have been Japanese under her mound of make-up but Ginny couldn't tell. Katie   
tried to kiss him but he moved away, making her let go of him, shocking Ginny by coming to stand very close to her. Katie   
gave her a once over and hissed at her like a cat before walking back into the open arms of her friends. Ginny noticed that   
she was crying. The leader Andrew walked closer to them and staring at her with a strange smile on his face.   
  
"So this is why you left huh? Cute, nice tits!" he said laughing at Ginny. Ginny crossed her arms, trying to hide her body   
from his gaze and looked at Ron. Ron looked about to explode and kill the boy; Hermione held him back with all of her   
strength. Ginny was surprise however when she turned back to see Harry and the boy standing so close their noses were   
touching. There was no friendship in Harry's eyes though, only hatred and loathing. The boy however smiled, "I guessed that   
you liked this girl a lot, but anyone would think that you were in love with her. You two together yet?" It took Ginny a   
moment to realise that he was talking about her. She looked at Harry shocked as he looked back at her blushing but still with   
gritted teeth, "I'll take that as a no then..." he hissed as he broke away from Harry and started to circle her. He ran his   
hand along a loose strand of hair and she flinched until Harry slapped it away.  
  
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!" he shouted as he moved closer. Ginny almost fell back in shock, and even Ron stopped fighting;   
he was so amazed by what Harry had said. Harry had never said a word worse than "bugger" or "bloody" in his entire life. How   
angry was he?  
  
"Now, now, Harry! I was just admiring this little one, she does have an amazing ass!" he said and grabbed it in both hands.   
Ginny felt quite uncomfortable but no sooner had she felt the boys hands on her than she opened her eyes to see Harry's arm   
fly passed her face. She didn't understand what had happened until she heard a dull crunch behind her and turned to see the   
boy unconscious on the floor. She realised Harry had done this and turned around to thank him when she almost cried out and   
went for her wand. Harry had been jumped by a huge guy who had him bent over, while trying to elbow him hard in the small of   
the back. Harry however was too fast for him. He punched the guy hard in the crotch causing him to let go and keel over. As   
Harry came back up quickly she saw another guy running for Harry, she was about to call out but Harry already knew. Still   
using his momentum from pulling himself up, he kicked the guy on his knees in the head, hard enough to send him flying back   
into the approaching assailant. They both fell to the floor, to tired or dizzy to get back up and Harry glared at the rest   
of them. She turned to see the boy he had hit first trying to get back up, blood running from his nose like a tap turned on   
full. She smiled at this and kicked him in the crotch hard. He groaned loudly and lost conciousness again. She turned back to   
see that the rest of the group had thought better of attacking him and were in the process of dragging their fallen friends   
away. Harry was in the process of wiping a little blood off the shiny metal at the front of his boot. Hermione just looked   
at the carnage horrified while Ron beamed at him.   
  
"Shall we go in then?" Harry asked quite calmly; the anger seemed to have drained from his body. Ron clapped him on the back   
and kept his arm there as he guided Harry towards the door.   
  
"That's what I call closure mate! Where did you learn to fight like that?" Harry just smiled at him and pointed at the still   
moving group of Goths. This put Ron into hysterical fits of laughter, until they all realised that Ginny was fixed to the   
spot outside. She looked at Harry, shocked, not understanding anything that had happened, why Harry had gotten so angry, or   
why the boy had said those things to Harry, but she was going to understand.  
  
"You left them for me?" She saw Harry's smile sink so far she was sure his face was going to fall off. But he motioned for   
her to follow him and they entered the darkness of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry didn't really know what to say as he started to explain to Ginny in a quiet corner of the Inn. He looked over to   
Hermione and Ron; who were sitting alone on the opposite side of the room to give them both privacy. Hermione smiled in   
upport, but it was Ron's view that would effect whether he would tell her the whole truth or not. Harry could see the   
conflict on Ron's face, and he could tell he was thinking about what he had said to Harry in his room this morning. After   
what seemed like an eternity Ron finally nodded his consent and looked away. Harry looked back to Ginny and saw her expectant   
eyes welling up with tears. She looked so confused, he wanted to just hold her, and kiss her, and tell her it was all okay,   
but it wasn't. So realising this he told her everything, his feeling for her, when they had started, what he had done over   
the summer, Voldemorts apparent influence over him and finally, exactly what her brother had told him this morning. He could   
tell that Ginny would forgive him, she would probably forgive him anyway, as she had told him half way through his   
explanation that she felt the same way. But he knew nothing could come of it and he had to make her understand.  
  
"I know you don't like your brother interfering with your life but he's right this time!" he noticed her breathe out hard at   
this but carried on, "I... I love Ginny Weasley!" at this she looked up at him, and saw the sadness in his eyes, "But I have   
Voldemort in me. I can never get rid of him. SO because of that we can never be together, I could never live with myself if I   
ever hurt you in any way... Can we just be friends?" He just looked at her. That was it, everything he had been hiding from   
her for so long was out and he had nothing else to say or do but wait for her answer. It took a long time for Ginny to   
process all the information and come to a decision, but eventually she did.   
  
"I love you just as much as that Harry Potter, maybe more, and I couldn't live without you in my life, even if it is just as   
friends..." Harry shot over the table and held her as tight as he could without suffocating her. He was overjoyed at her   
answer and for a long while they just smiled at each other. Eventually they got up and moved towards Ron and Hermione who   
looked apprehensive. Harry felt Ginny hug him tightly and he saw her smiling at her brother. This settled their feelings and   
made them smile back at Harry and Ginny, "Now are we gonna do some shopping or what?" said Ginny and they all linked arms to   
walk out of the back door; into Diagon Alley.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: "Awwww in that sweet!" I hear you say, but could you live like that? Everyday with the person you love knowing they love   
you back and not being able to hold them, or kiss them, whenever you feel like it? And with a Blast from Harry's Past (and I   
do mean blast) in the next chapter, will they ever be able to stay just friends? (Let's be honest who wants them to?)   
  
Please R+R! 


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Read the first one! Also Lillith is mine! If you wanna know who the hell she is, read on...  
  
A/N: Sorry this has taken so long but I've had a very bad week and I can't get onto the internet on a weekend anyway!  
  
Thanks to: Mrs Remus Lupin: I read your bio and I agree! But I'm very sorry to tell you that Legolas is in love with me and   
no one else so there! Thanks for the review. My friend is sitting next tome telling me you don't like me, because you sound   
so wound up. It's hard explaining to him that the more wound up someone is reviewing, the more their enjoying/getting into   
the story. Keep R+R and I'll see what I can do about bringing them together!  
  
klb14345: Again thank you! Of course I'm going to mention you. The more people review the more I love them, and then the more   
I write to them. Your reviews make my day whenever I read them, because I'm very self conscious when it comes to writing   
stories, so you make me feel better! I think this chapter will make you happier to, because if I'm not mistaken I do believe   
I can hear the Hogwarts Express pulling on to Platform Nine and Three Quarters! Also sorry for making you wait so long!!!  
  
Harrysgirl: You should really write some fanfic of your own, maybe then I can review yours and try to guess and therefore   
tell everyone about vital factors in your stories!!! Only kidding, but I would like to know, (do not review with this answer,  
e-mail me) what part do you think she has to play in it?  
  
Mabel Weasley: Harry never had reason to fight without a wand before but now that he had to live in the muggle world for the   
summer, with no wand, and having to deal with the constant prejudice that we Goths have to deal with, he obviously learned a   
few new skills. I can't wait until Malfoy tries his patience! Hee Hee!!! Also, the initials on Harry and Hermiones envelopes   
were HB and HG for Head Boy and Head Girl, Sorry should have made that more clear!  
  
Hermione15: Thanks for the praise but what do you mean, when you say you can see where I get my ideas from?  
  
  
  
Chapter 9.  
  
To Hogwarts we will go!  
  
A short pudgy man with a balding head stared at him out of a dark, cracked mirror. It took him a few seconds to realise it   
was his own reflection.  
  
"P-P-Peter?" he asked the reflection and it seemed to nod silently. He couldn't really be sure his name was Peter, he hadn't   
been called it in so long. There were other names for him but he seemed to remember Peter, "Pettigrew?" He hadn't spoken in   
so long, words sounded strange to him, but this the most of all. He seemed to remember that as a human he needed to have a   
surname, but he had not heard that name in what seemed like an eternity. There was another name that was familiar though, one   
that he vaguely remembered as a friendly nickname, but now was a name to dread and fear. Not for the fact that he was in any   
way powerful, the one who called it however...  
  
"WORMTAIL!!!" a high pitched raspy voice, screamed with power that caused even the walls of their domain to cringe back in   
fear. He started towards the voice, sure that the walls were laughing at him, because he was the one being called and not   
them. When he finally entered a room at the far end of a long dark hall he almost choked on the malice that hung in the air   
like a thick smoke. He choked as he entered and tried to breathe in deeply, but his breathe was stolen from him by the sight   
that lay before him. The Dark Lord Voldemort, most powerful and feared of all the Dark Wizards before him was sitting on a   
huge leather and wood throne that seemed to grow out of the ground. His flat face with snake like nostrils and glowing red   
eyes was contorted into the most horrifying smile that Wormtail had ever seen. None lived after they saw Voldemort smile like   
this, apart from one, him. Voldemort liked to taunt him with the prospect of death, just to keep him in line. But Wormtail   
knew Voldemort needed him, his most faithful servant, to keep tabs on the outside world while Voldemort plotted the demise of   
a certain boy-who-lived. But even safe in this knowledge, he still feared for his life. As he reached his master he flung   
himself to the floor and kissed the hem of his robe.  
  
"I am here as ever your faithful servant," he said in a shaky voice, "What is thy bidding my master?" He waited silently   
shaking for his master to speak. Voldemort took a moment to stop smiling, taking a long breath like a drawn out hiss before   
parting his lips.  
  
"Have you taken my precious to London Wormtail?" Wormtail looked up at his master and smiled weakly. Voldemort had told him a   
day gone by to take his black cat to London and get her near Kings Cross. He didn't really see why. The Cat could not   
possibly harm Potter as it had no magical powers apart from thinking like a human, and an uncanny ability to breed, a lot!   
This kept Voldemort in fresh kittens blood, something he favoured greatly.   
  
"Yes master, can I be let in on the plan now master? What is she to do master?" he asked a little more forcefully than any   
sane person would have. Voldemort acted like he ignored it, but Wormtail knew that he would be punished dearly later.  
  
"She will be very useful in the overall plan Wormtail, and you know the conclusion of that. Potter will fall Wormtail,   
further than his parents before him!" that was all Wormtail would be privy to that night as with a wave of Voldemort's hand   
he was flung from the room. The door slammed shut behind him as he hit the wall on the opposite end of the hall. He could   
faintly hear his Master speaking as he fell into unconsciousness, "Lucius, my child... How's your son?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Diagon Alley, as it always had been was a sea of colour and noise that made Harry smile in spite of the heart rendering   
decision he had just been forced to make. At first the group found it strange that there was so much noise and animal fur   
flying about the place, but then they saw that Eyelops Owls and the Magical Menagerie were both having a sale. They took this   
opportunity to go in and by their animals some accessories; Harry had been working Hedwig very hard recently. Hermione   
disappeared with Ginny at first and when they came back they saw what could only be a scratching post in her hands.  
  
"It's not just any scratching post, it's magical! It can talk, go on, give it a scratch!" Harry did has he was told as Ron   
made cat noises behind him and suddenly it gave him and electric shock.  
  
"Your not a cat! Go away!" it squealed in a high pitched voice, and Harry found himself inexplicably waiting for it to say   
"NI!" He smiled dumfounded as Hermione spent an exorbitant amount of money on a scratching post which he thought had it in   
for him as much as her cat Crookshanks did. Ginny stuck up for her though, and Harry joked with Ron that Crookshanks magical   
power must be to make girls like him. Ron then pointed out that he wasn't sure that Crookshanks was actually a boy. Harry and   
Ron went on about this for a long time, neither one conceding, yet neither one asking Hermione because they were afraid she   
would go off in a huff because they didn't pay enough attention to her, or her precious cat.   
  
Harry and Ron eventually dragged the girls out of the Magical Menagerie and towards the Owl Emporium. As they were crossing,   
Harry noticed Ron gaze lovingly up the street and followed his gaze. He expected to see a girl that Ron might fancy; then he   
would give him a dig in the ribs and everything would be okay. But when he followed Ron's gaze he found that it rested   
squarely on the sign jutting out from the wall. The sign read "Quality Quidditch Supplies!" and Harry didn't notice as his   
own face adopted the same glazed over loving expression. Strangely though he felt as if he was being hit in the stomach, and   
a split second later he winced as he felt the true punch. Ron was also bent double coughing and cradling his stomach;   
Hermione just stood over him with a strange look on her face, somewhere between concern and triumph.  
  
"I'm sorry," said Harry after he very quickly caught his breath, "I was miles away. Did you want something?" Ginny had a   
'Stop ignoring me Potter!' look on her face which to him made her all that more beautiful, it took him a couple of seconds to   
remember they'd agreed to not do this. He placed his hands lazily by his sides and smiled at her, hoping that she wouldn't   
notice the longing in his eyes.  
  
"If the boys want to go and play with their toys then who are we to stop them Ginny?" said Hermione, and by the tone in her   
voice Harry could tell she was going to make Ron pay for this. But Ron just smiled and kissed her goodbye before making a   
move off down the Alley. Harry just stood there though, transfixed by the look on Ginny's face. They had both seen that kiss   
and only now had it hit Harry how much he had given up all but ten minutes ago. He looked at her fiery hair and wished he   
could smell it. Her eyes stared at him and he wished that he could just look into them forever. Her lips had formed a pout   
that he could not fathom and he hoped to all the gods and powers that he would get to kiss them again. He felt tears welling   
up in his eyes as he saw her smile weakly and he asked himself, 'Can I really live like this?'  
  
"See you later Gin!" Ron said quite loudly and Harry snapped out of his stupor and watched her smile at him.  
  
"Yeah, see you guys later..." she said with the air of having just woken up from a day dream as well. He had to wipe his face   
so Ron wouldn't see the tears that threatened to run down his face before turning to him. Surprisingly he saw his friend   
standing there looking back at him with a deep sadness in his eyes, "I'm Sorry Harry... Thank you..." and with that he hugged   
Harry to him and pulled him off down the street. Harry realised that Ron must be feeling guilty, blaming himself for Harry   
and Ginny being unhappy. Harry forced his smile to go wider, which seemed to reassure Ron. Inside however Harry was a wreck.   
He struggled with the idea that he could never hold her again, that he could never touch her delicate hair, not even as a   
friend. It would be too strange now that they knew each others feelings.   
  
Harry was so caught up in his own head that he didn't notice Ron dragging him towards a large crowd. With a muffled thud and   
what he was sure was a breaking of bones on someone's part he looked up into a very pudgy face. He realised that he was laying   
on his back and only now noticed his bruised posterior. He felt the heavy weight lift off of him, and saw Neville Longbottom,   
staring at him, looking very scared. Harry immediately thought he was scared because of his clothing, and tried to force a   
smile when Neville cringed back.  
  
"Please don't hex me!" he screamed before hiding his face. It took Harry a little while; after laughing a lot, to get Neville   
to uncover his face.  
  
"I'm your friend Neville, I have been for seven years! I'd never hex you! We'd never hex you!" he said motioning towards Ron;   
however there was that one time in first year...  
  
"Sorry, I know you wouldn't," said Neville, quite flustered and also apparently forgetting his first year at Hogwarts, "It's   
just I was in the Leaky Cauldron earlier and I heard our old Professor Lupin talking to Mr. Ollivander. Apparently Prof.   
Dumbledore wants him to come to the school this year to make sure you use your wand properly!" Ron laughed this off saying   
something about Harry needing some help in Transfiguration, but Harry felt sick to the stomach. He almost threw up at the   
thought of people he trusted, people he thought trusted him, planning safety measures for him behind his back. Why were they   
all so secretive? What was he supposed to do? What was wrong with him?  
  
Before Ron could say anything he dashed through the crowded Alley losing him. He gracefully side-stepped Ginny and Hermione,   
so quickly they didn't even notice he had passed them, and reached the back of the Leaky Cauldron. After pushing his way   
passed some dumb-struck first years he got in. He immediately started looking for Remus, but when he was bowled over by a   
large black hairy mess, it appeared that they had found him first.   
  
He looked up into the face of Padfoot and smiled weakly, until he remembered why he had stormed up here. He was helped up by   
Remus and Mr. Ollivander but rather aggressively shrugged off their help. Remus looked at him surprised, but Mr. Ollivander   
just smiled the same knowing smile he had the first day they had met.   
  
"It seems young Remus, that our Mr. Longbottom was listening after all. And as a boy with his disposition tends to do got the   
wrong end of the stick. Would you like to explain or should I?" he asked Lupin, but not once taking his eyes off Harry. This   
threw Harry completely. He had before because of his feelings for Ginny and now... A mulled meed was starting to sound really   
good! As if reading his mind Mr. Ollivander smiled at Lupin, "Get the boy a drink Lupin, I'll find us a table," with that he   
steered Harry into a dark corner. He sat him down and his smile became softer. Harry had always been scared of Mr. Ollivander   
before but now he found himself warming to him, like an uncle that he had never met, "It seems Harry that we have our wires   
crossed. I am coming to Hogwarts this term, and I am coming to make sure you use your wand properly, but for a completely   
different reason than to keep tabs on you," he paused as Remus arrived at the table and placed a tankard of mulled mead in   
front of him. Harry was delightfully surprised but confused when Lupin didn't take a seat, "Your going to need a lot of   
guidance from me this year Mr. Potter, but I assure you, we are on your side." As if his last word was final, Mr. Ollivander   
got up to leave.   
  
With a lick from Sirius and a smile from Lupin, he was left alone in the corner drinking his mulled mead. But he didn't feel   
alone. For the first time in his life he felt as if he could never be alone, that his friends would always be by his side,   
even Ginny... Thinking about her he noticed three bright red heads walk through the door, followed by long one with straight   
brown hair that he was still getting used to not frizzy. He saw Ginny start towards him with deep concern on her face but he   
smiled at her and she stopped. He was okay, and now so was she. They continued staring at each other for a while until Harry   
heard Ron cough over the din.  
  
"Come on Harry!" Mrs. Weasley called to him, frowning slightly at the tankard of Mead he was finishing, "We've got to get you   
all packed!"   
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny looked at the packed platform Nine and Three Quarters. With the Hogwarts Express steaming and ready to go, hundreds of   
children and young men and women being waved off by parents, friends and relatives, she still felt completely alone. Harry  
was nowhere to be seen. Sirius was probably still at her house telling him the way to Hogwarts on the bike, so he wouldn't   
have to duck beneath the clouds. That had of course got her brother and Harry in trouble in their second year. True, a Ford   
Anglia was probably more noticeable than a bike, and the bike had a disillusionment charm on it but as her mother had always   
said; 'Better safe than sorry!' She smiled at the thought of Harry storming around the room, furious with teenage impertinence   
that he had to have flying explained to him, when he was possibly the best flyer in the country if not the world. She stifled   
a chuckle; Men, they could be so proud!  
  
She missed him as she boarded the train; normally he would be helping her with her trunk. Now it was up to her brother, but   
he was too wrapped up in showing off his impressive muscles to Hermione by holding her trunk above his head. Ginny had to   
admit that it was quite impressive as she seriously believed that Hermione had one of each of the books that Flourish and   
Blotts in there as well as a years supply of casual clothes, cat treats and her robes. That would have been Harry with her if   
not for this past summer. Part of her had tried to refuse his excuse that there was something very wrong with him, but she   
knew it made sense. His revelations of what he had done over this summer had made her certain something was wrong. That had   
not been the Harry she loved; she did not love that Harry, did she?   
  
Her dreams, they had been so real, as if she had been those girls over the summer, but he had stayed there, he had held her   
in his arms as she licked his wounds, he had held her... forever!  
  
She was snapped out of it by Ron dropping her trunk in front of her. He looked exhausted now that Hermione was nowhere in   
sight. Ginny laughed at him. He looked up at her angry and snapped, wheezing.  
  
"It's not my fault if you pack your trunk with too much crap!" his glare; however malicious, made her smile even more.   
  
"It's not my fault if you endlessly try to impress a girl who needs no impressing, therefore killing yourself in the pursuit   
of a goal you achieved when you saved her from a mountain troll in your first year!" white dots started to flash in front of   
her eyes, her head swam from lack of oxygen; she had said that all in one breath. Ron just stood there, his jaw grazing the   
floor. She had never stood up to him before, and she liked his reaction. He was dumb-struck as she picked up the fallen trunk   
and threw it onto the train. She left him like that on the platform before the whistle blew, and then she heard him scurry on   
behind her.   
  
She felt the train start to move as she finally arrived at their carriage, empty apart from Hermione and Crookshanks. She   
smiled as she sat down opposite and they both laughed as Ron pulled his trunk; with Harry's on top, into the compartment. He  
collapsed next to Hermione and showed how tired he really was by actually letting Crookshanks lick his face. Crookshanks   
purred at him and curled up on his exhausted form. Hermione sat shocked, but soon consented to a game of exploding snap with  
Ginny; a game that still did not wake Ron, or Crookshanks.   
  
Ginny looked at the space that should have been filled by Harry beside her but she could not bring herself to look for too   
long. The emptiness of the chair mirrored the emptiness of her heart and if she stared at it any longer she would cry. What   
took her mind off of it however was a loud knock on the compartment door. Even with the shutters down she could tell who it   
was; she had hoped that Malfoy would leave them alone when he learned that Harry was not on board. Wishful thinking, she   
decided as she saw Ron wake at the noise. Hermione sat down next to him and glared at the door waiting for it to open.   
  
"I'll say one thing for Malfoy," Ron said groggily to them both, "He seems to have learnt some manners over the summer!" they   
all chuckled at this but the door was quickly thrown open. Apparently; they could tell from the look of impatience that   
flickered for a second on his face, his learned manners didn't stretch very far, "What do you want Malfoy?" Ron glared at   
him, not caring much whether he answered or not. Malfoy seemed to ignore him.  
  
"Ah... Weasley, my favourite pureblood punchbag!" his eyes darted quickly to see that Ron was holding Hermione's hand, "A   
fine example of a wizard inbred and their want to get down and dirty with Mudblood filth!" he spat the last words at Ron but  
Ginny saw Hermione holding him back, she was surprisingly strong.   
  
"Shut it Malfoy!" Ginny spat at him, surprising everyone, including herself.   
  
"The President of the Potter fan club! Where is he? Finally got wise that you were coming on to him? Or did the prospect of a   
family threesome sicken him too much? That's your family moto though isn't it, 'Incest is best, Keep it in the family!'"  
  
"Use your wand Malfoy, your better at hurting peole with it!" Ginny stood up and spoke again; shocking Malfoy, but only for a   
second.  
  
"What does the retarded little bitch mean?"  
  
"I meant, if your tongue was a weapon you couldn't kill a fly!"  
  
"My toungue is as sharp as any sword..."  
  
"Your tongue is about as sharp as your cock, which is probably why you look like a prick and your breath smells like you've   
shoved your HEAD up Goyle's arse one too many times!" Malfoy had backed away during this, no one could have possibly believed   
that she could talk like this, not even her. Maybe Harry sticking up for her yesterday had caused something to rub off on her   
but she was on a role now, she hoped he would fight back. He however, didn't seem to be able to.  
  
"Crabbe?" he asked, unsure of what to do, "Goyle?" They looked back at him dumb-struck, with looks on their faces that said,   
'Does he really want us to hit a girl?' He looked at them in disgust at the delay in the time it was taking to carry out his  
order; regardless of the fact that he hadn't actually voiced an order.  
  
"JUST FUCK OFF MALFOY!" she screamed at him, while pushing him out of the door. She relished the words she had just said,   
trying to commit this moment to memory forever. Just when she was about to smile however, Malfoy regained his footing. He   
grabbed her arm, and rose his other one. She closed her eyes and looked away. He was getting ready to hit her, but before   
even Ron could start to move towards them, Ginny felt his hand leave her arm. She heard a crack of glass and a dull thud. She   
opened her eyes to see Crabbe and Goyle laying on the floor unconcious while two girls held Malfoy against the wall of the   
corridor, his feet dangling below him.   
  
He had become tall and muscular, qualities which would have made him quite heavy. What made it even more unbelievable was   
that the two girls were barely 5ft 6"; about the same height as Ginny, to Malfoys 6ft 2". Nevertheless, they were holding him   
easily. One of them went on tip toes, to move in close to Malfoy and although she could not see her lips move she could hear   
an almost silent threat, as if it was being whispered to her.  
  
"If you ever raise your hand to a girl again, you will lose it!" she spat at him and the other girl seemed to raise her   
heckles like a cat and she growled at him. He fell to the floor even though they slowly let him down and he half dragged half   
walked his fallen companions away, as fast as his legs could carry him. Ginny, Ron and Hermione all burst out laughing as   
they watched Malfoy duck into the furthest compartment and slam the door shut loudly.   
  
They turned to see the girls looking at them and smiling. She didn't know about Ron and Hermione but Ginny had to do a double   
take when she saw them. If she hadn't looked very closely she would have thought they were twins. Both were petite, with long   
black hair that reached their breasts. The quiet one who had merely growled had a dark complexion with large almond eyes that   
gave her an asian appearance, but her eyes were extraordinary. Her pupils seemed to stretch vertically and they were surrounded   
by a sparkling yellow iris which took up most of her eye. The other however was even more beautiful. Unlike her friend she   
had a distinctly european appearance, gentle curved features, but strong eyes. When Ginny looked at them she gasped and   
stepped back, they were exactly like Harry's contact lenses, but something told her these were their real eyes. The European   
one held out her hand and smiled at Ginny.   
  
"Hello," she said in a low melodic voice, "I'm Lillith and this is Precious, she's Chinese and doesn't speak a word of English   
though!" she said her smile warm, friendly, flawless. Ginny wanted to hate her but she couldn't, it seemed impossible, "I hope   
that guy doesn't give you trouble all the time?" her voice had the tone of a question rather than a concern. Ginny could tell   
she was gonna like these two.  
  
"Don't worry about him, he's nobody. Come and spend the rest of the journey with us, tell us something about yourselves..."   
Ginny ignored a faint sense of foreboding as she closed them in. 


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for such a long delay guys and gals I just really hope this doesn't disappoint. You know the drill by now though, just R+R for me and I may consider not making you wait for so long before I post the next chapter.  
  
Chapter 10.  
  
To Hogwarts we will go. Part 2.  
  
Now as it was, Harry found himself with a problem. His route to Hogwarts had all been planned out so that was fine. Well, fine except for the fact that Remus and Sirius had made him promise not to deviate from the chosen path at all. He hated breaking promises, and would normally never even consider it unless he really needed to. This unfortunately fell under the latter consideration. Unknown to his friends; and his godfather, over the summer Harry had developed a certain destructive addiction that he was not proud of. Nevertheless though, it was still and addiction, and one that had driven him crazy for the past fortnight at the Burrow. The insanity had almost reached its peak when Bill had pulled out a long clay pipe one night in the garden, and had proceeded to share it with the adults around the table. Harry had developed an addiction to nicotine, and though he was not quite ready for a pipe yet, the smoke still made it very hard to stay quiet.  
  
Now though, as he soared over London on his birthday present; the big black bike, trying to make out the Hogwarts express in the distance, he found himself once again gripped in the throes of that craving. Fighting against his own conscience and morals for what seemed like the thousandth time, he turned the handles of the bike; breaking his promise to Sirius, and started to circle London, getting lower and lower with each cycle. To his great surprise he found that he was zeroing in on the Leaky Cauldron; a stroke of luck, but a surprise nonetheless. Finding his way to the back of the building, and the yard that housed the muggle wheelie bins, he executed a no less than perfect landing and switched off the engine. He noticed the complete silence almost immediately; his legs missing the now familiar vibrations of the bikes engine, and was about to take off his helmet, when he noticed the open windows at the back of the inn. The people inside; inebriated as they were, were obviously aware of his presence. They would have heard the bike pull in, and would obviously think it very strange that a Hogwarts pupil; and a very famous one at that, was in one instance absent from school and in another, illegally riding a flying motorbike. But this was a problem he already had an answer to.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Now how do you hide in a crowd of people, from a dark wizard, who has your face magically ingrained on his minds eye?" was the question that Dumbledore had asked Harry all those months ago. At the start of his sixth year at Hogwarts, he Ron and Hermione found that they had extra lessons on Sundays, when no one else did. What worried him more was that on his first Sunday there, he, Ron and Hermione, had awoken to find themselves in the Chamber of Secrets. Not only that, but Harry had sat up and come face to face with Lord Voldemort; in all his glory, surrounded by his Death Eaters, all with their wands out. As Hermione screamed though, the figures around them melted away in a smoky haze, Leaving Dumbledore, McGonnagal, Mad Eye Moody, and the Marauders, looking down at them. When Hermione finally got over the disgust at what she believed was the sickest practical joke ever, Dumbledore explained.  
  
The new lessons they were to attend were for those three and for them only. Against the curriculum, and the laws of the Ministry, Dumbledore and the other wizards assembled would be teaching them how to defend themselves against the most powerful dark magic, and how to destroy it. Their lessons would cover duelling, protection, magic without wands and most importantly, the Unforgivable curses. All of these had been briefly touched upon before, but now they would become master of these disciplines. They would need to if they were to survive another confrontation, with Lord Voldemort.  
  
So they had worked for months, for hours and hours every Sunday, to that very end. One day though, Dumbledore was smiling at them. He had hinted that they would have fun that day. But when he had asked that strange question, their apprehension grew. 'What did Dumbledore have planned?' was the question forefront on their minds. His lesson turned out to be quite enjoyable however, starting from the moment his body changed into that of a man in his mid twenties who bore no resemblance to Dumbledore whatsoever. His lesson, they found out, would teach them to take on a completely different appearance; a good spell to know if you ever had to hide out for a while. Hermione was obviously the first person to manage the spell, shocking both Harry and Ron with how much she resembled their respective mothers. Spurred on by his soon-to-be girlfriend's success, Ron changed next. His new persona was a mix between Remus and Sirius. He had the round, jolly but tired face of Remus mixed with the penetrating eyes and strong stature of Sirius. He also had long straight black hair down to his knees, which he spent the rest of the day stroking lovingly…  
  
***********  
  
Harry silently murmured the spell, and suddenly felt his head change shape inside the helmet, just as he pictured his own transformation last year. Feeling the neck strap become tighter around his Adam's apple, he quickly undid it and pulled his helmet off slowly. His Goth clothes; baggy as they always were, felt decidedly tighter around his shoulders and crotch. Taking this as a sign that the transformation was complete, he carefully got off the bike, remembering to put the stand down to the floor. Taking off his glasses, as his new body didn't seem to need them, he placed them in his pocket and stretched a bit, getting used to his slightly exaggerated frame. Once he was ready he moved away from his bike, and made for the back door of the Leaky Cauldron. As he got closer, he caught his reflection in the small window and smiled widely. Before him stood the reflection of a strikingly handsome young man, with coal black hair and eyes to match. His hair was short, cut no more than two inches from his head, and it was stylishly arranged… for a muggle. His shoulders were broader than Harry's, and his crisp, sculpted body, hung from his cheekbones like a fine Armani suit. Harry's favourite part of all of this however was his forehead, his completely scar free forehead.  
  
He pushed the back door open and felt his addiction momentarily waver, as the sweet smell of flavoured Wizard tobacco touched his senses. The next thing he noticed was the same in any pub he had ever been in; the patrons dotted around took your measure, and went back to their own business. Harry however knew all to well that appearances were more than deceiving; he preferred to keep a close eye on anyone he didn't trust, which left the rest of the world bar a handful. Sat before him a group of very old and decrepit looking wizards argued about the true Wizard Chess champion. He chuckled as he heard them mention Dumbledore's name in there, and pressed on instead of butting in to agree. In the far corner, sat a group of ugly looking goblins; a far cry from their clean and decidedly rich cousins at Gringotts. Every once in a while one would pull out a gnarled and rusted weapon and smash it on the table just to put a point across. He smiled at their drunkenness, and turned his attention to another young drunk at the end of the bar. He was a boy Harry recognized as being a few years ahead of him in school, and he was about to meet an early grave if he didn't stop harassing the badly disguised Hag. It seemed through his beer goggles, that he didn't notice the look on her face; as she decided whether to boil him in oil, or skin him alive. At the other end of the bar though was stood Bill, the young Barman that Harry had become quite friendly with in his time here. Quite happily Harry strode straight up to him and slapped him on the back.  
  
"Alright Bill mate, how's it going?" Harry said grinning. Bill turned to him with a startled, confused look on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but I know the face and name of every wizard who has ever been in this establishment, but I don't know you…" he said timidly as if he was insulting Harry. Harry kicked himself hard; he couldn't believe his own stupidity, and there was no visible way of recovering. Looking around quickly, mimicking an all knowing laugh, he looked over his shoulder to the front window; possibly for a way to get out, but instead finding salvation. The Knight Bus could be seen pulling up outside and whizzing off again, after just dropping someone off. Now the Knight bus was manned by the most annoying git in the entire world, namely Stan. Not many people liked Stan and tended to try their damndest to forget every fateful meeting. This was something he could use to his advantage.   
  
"Come on Bill you remember me, Stan's Cousin? Came on the Knight bus?" Harry blurted out with a huge cheesy grin spreading from ear to ear. He needn't have bothered that much as Bill didn't know whether to be scared of him or pity him for his relations. But Harry knew how to get along with Bill and in minutes they were best of friends. Harry could have stayed there all day to enjoy the conversation, especially when Bill introduced his very buxom blonde sister, but he was here for a reason and had already lost an hour of the day. Pushing Lucinda gently off of his lap, he tapped Bill and downed his Tankard in one motion.  
  
"Is there any chance of something to smoke around here? Muggle cigarettes if you know of them?"  
  
"There is as it happens…" he paused for a while as if trying to remember someone else asking him the same question, "There' a new shop in Knockturn Alley, but you don't have to go in that far, so don't worry," He said as if Harry had never been down Knockturn before. After Bill gave him general directions, and Harry asked him to look after his bike, he walked out the back door and began to tap the stones in the wall with his wand.  
  
**********  
  
Diagon Alley had been extremely quiet as he had just walked through; he didn't bump into one person. It was a damn sight different than it had been the day before when they had been there to buy their things. Harry supposed that all the wizarding parents had spent all of their money the day before, and now they were working to recover from the bankruptcy that is… having children. But Harry knew where he was headed.   
  
He took a right turn as soon as he got to Gringotts; he didn't need to make a transaction today. Immediately he was plunged into another world. As it had been the first day he had set eyes on Diagon Alley, now Knockturn Alley seemed so alien to him. He could feel the eyes upon him; only some of them human, but he paid them no attention. He knew that most of these eyes would have attacked him by now for the bounty on his head; had his head actually been that of Harry Potter. Straight away he found the shop that Bill had spoken about. It was quite brightly lit for Knockturn Alley, with all manner of smoking devices in the windows. As he looked at the name of the shop; YE OLDE WORLDE TOBACCONIST, he wondered if the owner had been in any alternative muggle shops before.  
  
As he entered though he fought to push horrible memories out of his head, as his senses were assaulted by the smell of Marijuana. Forcing himself to forget about the club that was no more than a mile away, he headed deeper into the shop. When he got to the front he was shocked to find that it was like any other tobacconist, with a huge display stand behind the desk, filled with cigarettes and tobaccos from all over the world. Sitting on a small stool behind the glass cabinet desk; which was filled with pipes and ornate bongs, was a quite attractive woman. Well, attractive until Harry noticed the centipedes and Beetles that her arm was composed of. He normally would have shrunk back from this, but his new body plodded on. As he drew closer she looked up at him, and broke into a toothless grin.  
  
"Hello friend," her voice was like slime over gravel, and it sent a shiver down his spine, which he hoped didn't register in his features. He put on his most sinister devious smile possible and leant over the counter towards her.  
  
"I've heard you've got some never ending cigarettes for sale…" he left the last words hanging in the air, a malevolent reminder that if she tried to trick him, he'd kill her outright. Her lips thinned as her smile became slightly strained, as she caught his understanding. She bent down a little and pulled something out of what seemed like thin air behind the glass counter. When she righted herself she placed a pack of twenty Marlboro Red. He looked at her and smirked, "If it's never ending then why do I need twenty of the bastard things?" his voice was loud and corse, but he was only warning her.   
  
"I'm sorry sir," her slimey voice more sure of itself now, "but people do tend to lose a few so I sell them in Muggle packs, just so they're always on hand if you do…" She was smiling but her eyes showed she feared him. His clothes were a major affront to the traditional wizard robe, and as all wizards had been taught; wizards with that much apparent disrespect, were always ones to be feared, "If it pleases sir, I could give you a discount; first time buyer and all that…" the look of hope in her eyes was pleasing to Harry and he let his demeanour warm a little. She was visibly pleased by this an held them out to him, "One Gold Galleon please…" He smiled warmly at her, as they exchanged money for goods; she obviously wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. He tilted his head in his own way of saying goodbye and made for the front of the shop. As he reached the door he pulled out one of the cigarettes and put it in his mouth. With his wand he mumbled a spell and the tip set the cigarette alight. With one short drag he was outside, and revelling in the smoke as it passed through his system. He smiled at the looks he was getting from passer-by and was about to start blowing smoke rings when he heard a distinctive POP, from the alley next to him. Taking the fag away from his lips, he cocked his head around to see a heavily robed figure standing in the darkness. As Harry skulked back into the shadows of the shop doorway he was in, the figure stepped out onto the street.  
  
BANG! A boy had ran headlong into the figure, their robes becoming entangled, causing his hood to open. Harry still couldn't see who the figure was but the boy was staring straight at him.  
  
"Sir, Mr. M…" the boy was shaken out of his sentence as the figure pulled their robes apart. Then the figure grabbed the boy and pulled him bodily off the floor, so their faces were inches apart.   
  
"You say my name out loud boy and it'll be the last thing you ever do!" the figure whispered and the boy ran back in the direction he had come from. The figure hid its face again, but Harry had heard everything he needed to. Stubbing out his cigarette and watching for a second as it grew back, he followed Lucius Malfoy down the road.  
  
**********  
  
The shop he found himself outside was like an anti-Flourish and Blotts. The books in the front window were old, tattered and covered in cobwebs. As he looked through the window, he saw Lucius. He had taken down his hood and was very impatiently, slamming his hand down on the bell. Looking around to make sure that no one was there, he pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag, and wrapped it around him. Making sure not to make any noise, he pushed open the door and stepped in, thanking the god of cleaners for the dust which masked his footsteps. As he got closer to the desk, the clerk ran out with a disgusted look on his face, and almost ran back in when he was faced with Malfoy's impatience.   
  
"Mr. Peregrin, so wonderful of you to pay attention. I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd stop by to pick up a book, for my illustrious master. Anything in particular you'd think he'd like?" Mr. Peregrin was about to say no when Malfoy's staff came crashing down on the counter turning a very old book to dust, "DO NOT TRY AND FOOL ME PEREGRIN!!! I know you have that book…" he paused to compose himself a little bit. "Now let me refresh your memory of the book I'm talking about. It's very old, leather bound, MERLIN wrote it, it has a jewel shaped like a phoenix on the front… Need I go on, or do I need to get my Master to make a visit. I'm sure he'd be dreadfully UNHAPPY to oblige…" He let his words hang in the air like icy cold water that every once in a while trickled down the back of your neck and made your skin crawl. Shaking with fear Peregrin almost fell back through the door, to look for the book.  
  
//Merlin wrote it?// Harry thought to himself as he silently followed, //He was the most powerful wizard ever, Voldemort can't get that!!!// he rushed after Peregrin and found him violently throwing boxes about the place. Wherever he had put the book, it wasn't there anymore. Harry smiled to himself for a second, at the thought that Voldemort may never get it, but then a sparkling light caught his eye. It was right next to where Peregrin was looking but far enough out of the way for him to risk it. So silently he could have sneaked up on a Ninja, Harry placed the cloak over the pile of books and shuffled away with them, still hidden from Peregrin. With a quick check over his shoulder to make sure that Peregrin wasn't looking, he pulled the pile apart. Finally he found the sparkle, a gold crest of arms which was dominated by a fiery red phoenix. Above and below the bird were written the words, GRIMORUM ARCANORUM, but he would have to find out what that meant later. Pushing the book into his bag he made sure the cloak was tight around him and made a run for it. As he broke out of the corridor, he noticed the confusion on Malfoy's face. He could obviously hear Harry but he couldn't see him. Harry smiled at this, and remained thankful that he had left the shop door open. It took him a second to round the counter, and with that he was gone.  
  
***********  
  
Panting and nursing his knee, he slammed heavily against the side of his bike, as he collapsed to sit on the floor. He had ran straight back to his bike, as soon as he had emerged from the shop. Only looking back to check if he was being followed. Unfortunately he should have been looking forward in one of these instances, and had smashed headlong into the same boy Malfoy had hit earlier. The boy ran away screaming believing he had been cursed, while Harry raced back here. Now that he wasn't running on it however he realised how much damage that knock had really done. To get his mind off of the pain, he pulled the book out of his bag and opened it; wincing as he put it down on his bad knee. The first page was an old handrawn picture, of Merlin himself; who Harry had to say, looked an awful lot like Dumbledore. When he opened the next page it was surprisingly blank. He shrugged at this and kept turning, but they still kept coming up blank. The lightbulb above his head suddenly clicked on and he went back to the picture of Merlin at the beginning. He was about to touch Merlins nose with his wand when the picture began to move.  
  
"Ohhh please do, that's been itching for millennia," As the picture spoke Harry smiled. It sounded Like Dumbledore aswell. He willingly scratched the nose of the picture, watching as the picture let out a very satisfied sigh, "Thank you ever so much for that. You have no idea how good that feels…" he paused now to regard his saviour and suddenly smiled widely, "SO… your Harry Potter, I've been waiting to bump into you," Harry was very surprised that the picture knew who he was but suddenly a blast of white magic came from the book, and he was himself again, "There, much more comfortable, don't you agree?" he said his voice ancient but warm, sending reassuring thoughts through his mind. But all of a sudden he started to look around, startled by what he saw. He took a minute doing this and then looked back at Harry, "Mr. Potter, why aren't you at school?" Before Harry could even say anything, he felt a wet patch on his arse that was getting bigger by the second. He felt underneath, but felt wet grass all around him. He suddenly realised it had gotten much darker, and when he looked up he realised why. Before him; lights shining in every window, stood Hogwarts, framed by stars in all its glory. He was on the opposite side of the lake and could barely make out the students climbing the front stairs. He looked down into his lap and saw the book laying there closed. The phoenix on the front sparkled and glowed in the darkness and then winked out. He looked down at the book, then up at the Castle, and then back at the book. Finally he got off of his arse and got onto his bike.  
  
"Cool…" 


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from the characters you've never heard of before.

A/N: Little bit about this chapter. I'm very upset about the fact that J.K. Rowling has completely destroyed my storyline, but it doesn't matter that much. I'm just gonna try and keep this going as if there were never any other books written, therefore completely ignoring the fact that Ginny doesn't fancy Harry anymore. Or that Sirius is dead.

Reviews: Oh so many to say thankyou to.

Blue Eyes: Oh come on, they so obviously will, though by the end you may not think so yourself.

Jenova101: Okay I'm sorry I didn't take heed and update soon, but that was a mistake i'm gonna rectify now.

Gin&har:4eva: For someone everyone seems to like the idea of a Goth Harry Potter. Maybe you guys should send some fan mail to J.K. and tell her about it.

Kristina Parrillo: Thanks hope this makes up for it. The girl who doesn't want to sign in: SIGN IN!!! Come on I need your input and support.

Blingbling: love the name, thanks for the advice, it was your review that actually made me start it up again.

NavyDevil: If you wanna see how they react read on.

Voltor: You Hurled? Why?

Harrysgirl: I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, sorry. I didn't actually, get a life as have one forced upon me, but now, after months of struggle I've found my way back into my old one, and I'm ready to show my creativity to the world once more. Thanks for being so loyal and waiting so patiently and I am really sorry for making you wait so long. So anyway, I'm really sorry for making you all wait so long. SO without further ado, "Hello World! I'M BACK!!!"  
  
Chapter 11.  
  
My own Summer.  
  
"Fuck, Fuck, Fuckety Fuck, Buggering Shit!" mumbled Harry to himself, as he ran with the bike at his side, towards the front door of the castle. The engine had cut out about a minute after he had miraculously found himself in the grounds of Hogwarts. 'So much for my spectacular entrance!' he thought, as the light of the Entrance Hall, got closer. His entrance though, however subdued it was, was still inexplicable. One moment he had been sitting out the back yard of the Leaky Cauldron, talking to a picture of Merlin, the next he had blinked and found himself transported about eight hours forward in time, and next to Hogwarts lake. He felt the book in his knapsack, it's corners digging into his lower back, but promptly forgot about it as he felt the grass beneath his feet, change quickly into gravel. He pushed the bike faster to the foot of the steps, and quickly kicked down the stand. Balancing it carefully, and unpacking everything he needed, he locked it magically; even though it wouldn't run anyway, and took four steps at a time to reach the open oak doors.  
  
Just before he reached them though, his gaze was caught by a huge explosion of flame somewhere off to his right. He looked back slowly scanning the horizon for any sign of life, his wand at the ready and then saw Charlie being flung through the air at phenomenal speed attached to a very big leash. Over a grassy incline came Norbert the Dragon, Hagrid riding his back as Norbert tried to take off with his adoptive father on his scales. Hagrid was a bit too heavy for the young dragon just yet though and he had to settle for running his handler Charlie, into the now muddy floor. Harry suppressed a laugh and reminded himself to go down to see them later, and to try and find Bill so he knew where the traps were going to be. Bill had been employed as a teachers aide to Moody; the real one this time, he would cover the curse breaking side of Defence Against The Dark Arts. Harry knew better though, he knew that Bill was here to employ his knowledge in magical booby traps to make Hogwarts a fortress. He smiled at the lengths they were going to for his friends safety and pushed open the big door.  
  
As he entered, he knew instantly that he was home. The smell of the torches burning around him, mixed with the musty smell that all old castles had, made him feel whole, safe. Now only if he had a full stomach aswell. He looked up towards the doors of the Great Hall, just in time to see them shut behind a group of first years. They had just gone in, which meant that if he hurried, he could just make the Sorting. Completely forgetting that he hadn't changed into his Hogwarts robes, he proceeded to leg it up the stairs. But as he got to the top; the third flight of stairs, the floor beneath him fell away. He found himself on a slippery slope akin to a waterslide, which after a couple of twists and turns spewed him out onto the cold, hard stone floor. He looked behind him as he got up; nursing his backside, and found that there were no steps to be seen, only a segmented slide of polished marble, that stretched up to where he had been standing moments earlier. The figure occupying that space now though was not a teacher or a transparent figure indicating a ghost. It was somewhere in between and dressed in the fashion of an adult that had never grown up.  
  
"PEEVES!" he screamed as he tried to run up the slope. It was too steep however and he slipped forwards almost knocking his front teeth out as his face hit the floor. He got back up, licking the blood from his front lip. But this action, normally instinctual, sent his senses reeling, and his memories; no matter how much he willed them not to, back to that dreaded, forgotten summer holiday. When he looked back at Peeves the poltergeist it was with a fire in his eyes the likes of which had never been seen in a wizard before; well maybe Dumbledore. With that fire raging, he just stared at the poltergeist, as if willing him to cease his half existence.  
  
"Potty... Pott... Merlins Ghost!" Peeves stuttered with a fear he had only ever exhibited in the presence of Dumbledore, and started to move away. But instead of righting the stairs before he left, he flew off at top speed towards the dungeons; where he was sure Harry would not go. That was the Slytherins domain after all, and if caught there, points would be stripped from Gryffindor before they had gotten any. The fire in his eyes died slowly as his predicament dawned on him. He looked up at the top of the stairs, three very slippery flights away.  
  
Harry Also became acutely aware though of the pain in his back; probably from the fall, and took off his knapsack. As if alive in his hand the knapsack turned itself over and spewed the book out onto the floor. He could feel the dents in his lower back from the gold corners and motioned to pick it up. When he touched it though it jumped open and flicked through pages until it settled somewhere near centre. There was a picture of Merlin there again smiling, and these pages had writing on them.  
  
"Hello again Harry, did you enjoy your trip?" He chuckled to himself, it was obvious he knew exactly what Peeves had just done. Now that he thought about it though, it was quite funny, and Harry found himself chuckling softly to himself.  
  
"Fancy doing that trick again, to get me up the stairs?" The ghost of Merlin chuckled to himself for a long while until he finally settled down. At this rate Harry was going to miss the Sorting hat ceremony, but it wouldn't be the first time.  
  
"I don't need to transport you Harry, you can do it yourself, Merlin smiled and walked out of view, the pages fluttered in Harry's hands and fell open on a page called 'Flight.' Harry read the page but could not understand a word of Latin until right before his eyes the words seemed to change into English. It was a spell he could learn which would allow him to fly like Peter Pan. But it was an impossible spell to learn, he'd never get it down in time. When Merlin walked back into view on the new page harry looked down at him disheartened.  
  
"I'll never learn this in the next five minutes, cos that's all the time I've got. I'm never gonna digest all this information," but as soon as the words were out of Harry's mouth Merlin smiled. The page opposite the moving picture started to fold down and down and down until it was the size of a small pill. In fact it looked a little like excstacy, even with the little white dove on the front.  
  
"Well you did say, 'Digest' mister Potter..." Harry plucked the pill from the book and put it on the end of his tounge. As soon as he had he wished he hadn't though as hundreds of images and sentences bombarded his mind all at once. When he felt like he would scream though it suddenly stopped. Harry felt lighter, like all his troubles were floating away, and trying to take him with them. He smiled at the glowing picture of Merlin and finally understood. Closing the book carefully and placing it back in his knapsack he looked up towards the landing he was meant to be on. Squinting, he imagined it to be closer, as if it was being pulled towards him and with a small ripple in the air he began to lift off. He rose slowly at first, in stops and starts, but as it became smoother it also became faster. Before he knew it he had flown straight passed the landing and on down the same corridor Peeves had flown down. Then he saw the poltergeist, trying to forcibly extract one of the suit of armor ghosts. He bore down on Peeves who was dumbstruck as he saw him and ducked for cover as Harry came careening overhead. With a loop he was bearing back down the corridor with a wide grin on his face, leaving a frightened Peeve's shivering in the warm corridor.  
  
Harry finally came to rest on the outside of the door to the great Hall. Swinging his bag over his back he set his face into a charming grin and pushed the doors open...  
  
Ginny was beginning to get worried, Harry had promised them all that he was going to do a couple of fly by's just to make sure they were safe. Of course he hadn't, she of all people would have noticed, what with her obsessive staring out of the carriage window in expectation of Harry's charming grin. Even the two exchange students couldn't turn her away. But why would Harry lie? Maybe he wouldn't, maybe Voldemort had gotten him, maybe...  
  
"BANG!!!"  
  
The Great Hall doors flew open and her head turned first, her expectation keeping her reflexes amazingly sharp. There in full view of everyone stood Harry, in all his decadent splendor with a lopsided grin on his face that made her feel tingly in places not fit to mention in a school dining hall. She smiled and was about to get up when she remembered where she was. The collective shocked gasp from the school and faculty snapped her head back to where Dumbledore headed the teachers table. He had been standing already the Sorting ceremony having just finished and had a rather peculiar look on his face. Lupin who sat at his side also had a peculiar look on his face, but one of understanding instead of anger. The rest of the teachers looked furious, all except Snape. She had expected him to be different, expected him to revel in the fact that the new head boy was about to get his title removed. But he was not happy, in fact he looked shocked and confused, and his eyes told of an old memory long forgotten, but one that troubled him greatly. Ginny forced herself to turn from Snape not wanting to miss what Dumbledore would do.  
  
But Dumbledore merely smiled and clapped his hands together. He beckoned Harry to come forward and heads turned so fast the first years got whiplash as they turned to see what Harry was wearing. His long dragon skin coat whipped at them as he passed and the girls almost squeeled in glee if he looked in their general direction. Ginny felt a fleeting moment of self satisfaction then as she almost beemed at them. Only she knew that the love of Harry's life was her, and that he would never want them. She looked back at Dumbledore as Harry got closer to the space next to her and Ron.  
  
"Welcome home harry, Glad you finally made it," at this Harry's grin changed and he blushed making him look so cute to her. She wished she could get up and kiss him but Dumbledore spoke again, "To the first years who don't know or have not already guessed, this is Harry Potter. Now normally I would never single him out as anything more than a normal student, but this time I feel the need to explain his absence. Do not believe for one moment that he is favoured by the faculty any more than you all because we don't punish him for his late entrance. The reason he is late is in fact the reason that you are sitting here this evening. You see Lord Voldemort (there was a collective shudder form everyone in the room apart from the new Marauders) seeks Harry whenever he can. I had a report that he meant to do something on the school train this year to get Harry, which would have placed all of your lives in danger. So Harry got to school by other means, which I'm sure you will all see and have a go of, before this year is out," he allowed himself a chuckle then continued, "But Harry, do sit please..." Dumbledore waved his hand at Harry in a dismissive way that did not betray his real feelings for Harry. He then righted himself and continued with what he was going to say before Harry had burst in.  
  
"Firstly I would like to make it clear to all students, old and new that the Forbidden forest is STILL the Forbidden forest," he glanced quickly at Ginny and she blushed, but he continued, "Secondly I have a few more welcomes to bestow," He looked towards the door to his right, "I would like to welcome back Cho Chang," as soon as he said the words the door opened and in stepped Cho. Ginny suddenly remembered what it was like to hate. Harry had been besotted with her since his first year but Ginny could say the same for herself about him so she understood. But the way the bitch had toyed with his affections in his fifth year, and then just left last year was unforgivable. But what would Harry be like now that she was back? Would he forget what he had said to her in the Leaky Cauldron? Would he go back to treating her as Ron's geeky little sister? Ginny looked eagerly at Harry, hoping he would turn his head to look at her, so she could see into those eyes and know that he would never do that to her. But Harry just stared straight at the front, straight at Cho. She wished so much that she could see the expression on his face, but just then Dumbledore started to speak again.  
  
"Now as most of you know; and I'm sure the one's who don't will find out in good time, Cho was given compassionate leave from the school last year. After all that she's been through, I'm sure none of us can begrudge her that?" It was a rhetorical question but Ginny almost jumped out of her seat to protest.  
  
'What a crock of shit!' she thought to herself, making no sign to anyone of how she really felt, 'My little finger has been through more than her entire family put together, and if there'a anyone who deserves compassionate leave, it's Harry...' to this she did look around the table for agreement but then realized when no one was looking at her that she had been speaking in her head. She focused on Dumbledore again as he began again.  
  
"Cho has been through much soul seeking this year and has come through it stronger, and in the faculty's collective opinion, a different person. To this end we hope that whatever house she ends up in will welcome her with open arms..." the words rung in Ginny's head like they had been uttered in a dream, but a very real one. Cho was a Ravenclaw, what did Dumbledore mean new house? Ginny was still thinking about it as Cho was lead to the sorting hat. What if the sorting hat thought Cho was braver? What if the sorting hat put her in...  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!!!" the word had never before sounded so bitter and disgusting to Ginny. It had always inspired confidence in her up until now. Now she didn't know whether to cry or clap. Now Cho was in Gryffindor maybe she would make a move on Harry. HARRY! Ginny looked up at him to see him staring at the table, like he was deep in thought about something he had been avoiding for a while. Or maybe that was just Ginny's overactive imagination. Nevertheless when Cho sat at the head of the Gryffindor table Harry did look up at her, to give her a nod and one of his cocky grins. A cocky grin that Ginny had stupidly thought was reserved for her. Of course it wasn't, Harry had probably used it a hundred times over the summer, kissed a hundred girls who had melted to that smile. Ginny shook her head clean of the images before she started crying. What would she do if harry got together with Cho now? Her train of thought was broken by Dumbledore, who cleared his throat again to speak.  
  
"As well as a joyful return we also have a few new additions, but they're a little older, I thought it would only be right that they were sorted into the seventh year along with Cho. Please welcome Precious," he gestured to the door off to his right and through it walked the first of Ginny's new friends. With her pretty cat like eyes flashing to her face, she gave Ginny a smile before progressing to the sorting hat. She looked quite stupid with the hat on her little head but Ginny forgot that when the hat shouted Gryffindor. She got up with the rest of the table and started clapping, happy that she had some good news today, she really liked Precious. But Precious was still standing there, without the hat on looking around confused. She looked back at the hat and shockingly the hat spoke to her in Chinese. She smiled wider then and bounced down the Gryffindor table to sit next to Ginny. Ginny gave her a hug and then turned back to the front with everyone else, missing Precious' gaze settling on Harry.  
  
"And with everyone quiet our last new addition Lillith," Dumbledore again gestured but Lillith was already out of the room and walking towards the sorting hat. She looked around to see where Precious was but before her eyes settled on Ginny she stopped dead in her tracks. The look of horror on her face was possibly the most disturbing thing Ginny had ever seen, but when she looked behind her Ginny could see nothing to warrant it. Panning her head back round, she suddenly noticed what Lillith was looking at. Harry was looking back at her, the look on his face a complete mirror of hers. But he was shaking, violently and faster as he rose onto his feet and tried to back away out of the hall. By now everyone was looking at him, but when Ron put up and arm to ask what was wrong, harry let out a piercing scream which made everyone hold their ears. Ginny was about to move to him when he lurched back as if he had been struck in the forehead and collapsed to the floor unmoving. Ginny pushed to his side and just sat there holding him, wishing that he would just flash that cheeky grin at her one more time...

The first thing he noticed was the smell, so familiar, like the smell you get from a second home, a place that brings back memories of chocolate and a woman in a uniform giving him horrible tasting fluid, and his arm being floppy and his head hurting. It could only be the infirmary Harry thought to himself as he allowed himself a fleeting smile. It had over the years been more of a home to him than his own dorm, back when life had been more care free, simpler. He winced as that became all too true, when the reason for his being here this time came flooding back.  
  
'Lillith? Here? At Hogwarts? What was wrong with the world? Whit Dumbledore? He had to be told...' It was finally at this point that harry forced his eyes open, only to find a large crowd gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione sat on a chair next to his bed holding each other and staring out of the window looking worried. Sirius and Lupin were in the middle of a very heated discussion and they both looked worried too. Ginny sat nearest to him with tears in her eyes, but when she saw him wake she let out a squeal of joy which was almost immediately silenced by Sirius pushing her out of the way. Behind them all Dumbledore had been the only one standing there smiling.  
  
"HARRY!" shouted Sirius as he almost crushed Harry in a bear hug, "Are you okay? Was it your scar? Where is he Harry? Who's he killing? Are you feeling better?" So many questions, Harry had forgotten the first one before the last came. Sirius reminded Harry of a dog when you shake a lead in front of it's face, how excited it gets, he was very surprised when Sirius didn't try to lick him. He was about to try and answer though, as best he could, when Dumbledore gently guided Sirius away and placed himself next to Harry.  
  
"I believe..." he started in his soothing calming voice, "that this time, harry's blackout had nothing to do with Voldemort at all, but maybe more to do with a young girl Harry met this summer? Lillith if I'm not mistaken..." Harry wanted to scream at him, scream at them all to make them understand, but as Dumbledore spoke like he was going to explain everything anyway, he found himself settling down to wait until he had the facts of what lies Lillith had spun for him, For those of you who hadn't already guessed or didn't know, Harry met Lillith during the summer holidays. They entered a relationship of sorts," with this Dumbledore gave Harry a disapproving look before continuing, "not knowing that either of them were really wizards and witches. The combination of their powers and their ignorance of each others lives caused some rather nasty side effects, worse for Harry due to his past experiences," at this he looked only at Harry, "I can assure you now though Harry that those side effects have passed, your scar will no longer hurt when Lillith is around..." he placed his ahnd firmly on Harry's shoulder as if anticipating what was to come next.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Harry thrashed about under Dumbledore's grip, not noticing for an old guy he was pretty strong, "THAT'S NOT IT!!! THAT CAN'T JUST BE IT!!! SHE'S EVIL!!! SHE'S THE ONE!!! THE REASON FOR..." he stopped dead, not moving, not speaking, not even breathing. He had almost let it all come out, he had almost spilled about his dreams. He had almost told Ginny 'Everything' As he sat there unblinking Lupin was the first to jump in. "Reason for what, Harry? What has she done?" Everyone looked eager to know, apart from Ron and Hermione. They both knew enough to know that this was knowledge best not shared to this audience. They just continued to sit there and look worried. They had gotten really good at that over the years.  
  
"You'd never believe me anyway," Harry grumbled, falling back into the pillows on his bed, "not that now that professor Dumbledore has had the last word..." There was a collective gasp at this, no one could believe he could speak to the headmaster like that, not even Sirius. Dumbledore was the only one who held a patient and sympathetic smile on his face. Harry didn't care, and continued despite everyone's shocked gazes, "I'm sorry Professor," he wasn't really, "but after this time what you've just said is a lot to get my head around. I've gotta change my whole belief structure so if you don't mind, I'd greatly appreciate you all leaving me in peace." He was a little happier when the headmaster moved to usher the adults away with not so much as a hint of resentment or protest. It was only as Harry watched them walking out though, that he noticed Snape getting up from his far corner, and moving to follow them. He must have been there for the entire conversation, so as he moved passed the bed, Harry decided to get a dig in.  
  
"Bit conspicuous for an eavesdropper aren't you professor?" harry's small smile almost faded when Snape wheeled on him, but it was quickly replaced with a look of mild confusion. Snape had turned quickly to look at him, his bones almost snapping as he did every time, as if harry had spoken out of turn in his classroom. Harry had half expected to be docked of points, but was just shocked by Snape's behaviour. There was no malevolence in his stare this time, no malice, no contempt, only concern. In fact if Harry had not just suffered a massive head trauma he would have sworn that Snape had been staring into Harry's eyes with genuine care. Snape opened his mouth to say something but paused, like the words were stuck in his throat. It was as if looking at Harry Snape had been stopped dead in his tracks; something Harry had wished many times before now, but this time harry found himself wishing for a detention just so Snape would leave after giving it, this new type of look was extremely uncomfortable. Finally and with what seemed like a great effort, Snape spoke.  
  
"Hmmm, nice hair Potter," and with that finally, Snape swished out of the infirmary door. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked around was almost surprised to see Ginny, Ron and Hermione still there. They probably wanted to ask him all about Lillith, especially Ginny who knew even less than the other two. But Harry wasn't interested, he was still seething from everyone's casual disbelief of anything he thought. Ron made a move to say something but Harry turned his head away and closed his eyes.  
  
"I thought I said I wanted to be left in peace..." he just let his words hang in the air and didn't open his eyes again until he heard the ward door close. When he did open them he was alone, not even a ghost disturbed the air in the infirmary. He screamed, and he screamed and he screamed. He screamed until he was blue in the face and his throat felt like he had been swallowing knives. With a lone tear falling down his face, taking a long black line of eyeliner with it, he got out of bed and put his clothes back on. He looked out the window as Hedwig did a fly by to look in on him. That's what he needed right now, that's what would clear his head. He moved towards the door of the infirmary, his wand in his hand as he got there. Just as he left Madame Pomfrey came out into the ward shocked to find that all of her guests were gone. She just missed the spell being cast down the corridor, barely a whisper as it reached her.  
  
"Accio Firebolt..." 


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own none of the original characters, they all belong to J.K. Rowling but I own the storyline and anyone you haven't heard of before.  
  
Reviews: Arrghhh so much hatred for my kindred... Lol oh well. Look the reason I put Harry as a goth is because wizards seem to be drawn to the more flamboyant styles of dress. They're also more open minded and more geared towards the weird than your average cap wearing, puffy jacket donning, jock asshole :) So in essence Wizrads make the perfect Goths. Because Goths aren't evil and to the other comment, BECAUSE GOTH CHICKS ARE HOT!!!  
  
So anyway, because I feel so sorry for leaving it so long between chapters last time, here's another one...  
  
**Chapter 12.  
  
I stand Alone. **

For a regular September afternoon the air about was quite chilly, in comparison to it's normal late summer warmth. The grass crunched beneath feet as if still touched with a winter frost and even the faraway mountains, normally giving off a dazzling onyx shine in the sunlight, were capped with a thin sheet of snow. It was almost as if the weather had watched Harry walk out onto the quidditch pitch earlier and changed to reflect his ill mood. It had been hours since he had left the infirmary now and still all was the same. The wind whipping through his hair, the trees rushing by in a blur of green and brown, the excited screams of the spectators he buzzed on the way passed, Nothing; Harry finally decided as he touched down in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, could drag him out of the rut he found himself in. He looked around the stalls and scoffed at the carefree attitude the first day at school always brought out in people. Couples were dotted here and there making out, ecstatic that they were finally together again in Hogwarts. Harry smirked twice, the first was a snide grin that looked ugly on his charming features as he was sure he had shagged at least one of the girls up there during the holidays. He may have been wrong but it would explain why the girl seemed to be over attentive, they always did it just after cheating, kinda like a guilt mechanism.  
  
The second smirk was for the care free looks on their faces. As of today they were going to school with that psycho Lillith and there was a possibility that none of them were safe. He still couldn't get over the fact that people still disbelieved him. Hadn't he been right in the past, every time he had heard a voice? Every time his scar had hurt? Every time he had a hunch which seemed implausible? After all that, still no one believed that they were all in danger. Maybe he would go up and ruin they're day too? Nah, he couldn't bring himself to ruin someone's lives today, not when he had promised Ginny that he was a changed man.  
  
But was he a changed man? Had he really put all his past behind him? He was unsure of his feelings; now more so than ever, everyone in the infirmary had been so disbelieving of Harry's story, right now he felt like the only way to cure his cold mood would be a really good warming shag, just to get it out of his system. But he couldn't do that, not to his friends, not to people who believed in him, not to all the people he had made his promises to. Plus who could he find in this place; that would be willing straight away, apart from maybe...  
  
'NO!' he pushed the thought of Ginny far to the back of his consciousness. He couldn't abuse her feelings for him like that. No he had changed he wasn't going to be Voldemorts pawn, or this tramps toy. He was his own person, he was Harry Potter, wizard extraordinaire, he wouldn't let this thing inside him hurt anyone else.  
  
After much deliberating he decided to try flying again, it was normally so good at taking his mind off of things. This time though he walked towards the ball box. Maybe if he was flying towards a goal then he would become more focused, and forget all about Lillith, and Ginny. He knelt down on the floor magically opening the locks on the box. Almost as soon s the light and air hit the balls inside the bludgers sprang to life, raring to go. They really wanted a piece of harry after being locked in a box all summer, Fred and George had always told Harry that the first game of a season was always the hardest on the beaters. Harry laughed at the memory of them nursing they're injury's.  
  
"I should have released the balls in the beginning, it's working already..." he opened the school crest in the lid of the box and took out the snitch, bludgers still shaking it about waiting for they're chance. Almost immediately the snitch sprouted its wings and buzzed around waiting for the off. Harry smiled and with a quick snap of his knee kicked the bludgers loose as his hand released the snitch. They all hurtled straight up like a strange formation flight team, before the bludgers strafed off in opposite directions to find they're way right for Harry. With a loud whoop of joy Harry kicked off, pulling off a spectacular dodge leaving the bludgers to grind shallow trenches in the ground behind him.  
  
Now he was smiling, in fact he couldn't imagine himself ever stopping, he had almost forgotten where he was, even with the loud screams from the girls in the stalls sometimes breaking through his mind block. He had to give it to himself though, he was pulling off some truly spectacular dodges, the bludgers smashing into each other more often than even clipping him. They seemed to be in complete unison, working together as a team, one going low and one high, to cover both directions. Harry smiled to himself though, he was just better than them simple as that. It was halfway through that thought that the snitch did a little dance under his nose before darting off behind him. He blushed furiously but he was going too fast for any spectator to see him, hopefully they had missed the snitch too.  
  
'I'd better stop giving my self a big head and keep my mind on the job at hand,' he thought as he caught a glimpse of the snitch and instantly swerved to follow it down. The bludger that had been following him continued to sail straight through the teachers stall, sending pillows splinters and coloured shreds of material raining down on the happy couples below. The other bludger was still on his tail though. It seemed that they had abandoned their synchronized attacks and were now just trying to hurt him. He smiled again wider this time if that was possible.  
  
'Well they can try...' but almost as the words formed in his mind he was almost knocked off his broom by a huge dark shape rushing passed him. Still hurtling down and trying to get himself straight, he had just enough time to look at the moving wall before he had to pull up tightly, to narrowly miss the floor. It had not been a wall after all though, but a heavily robed figure, his or her face covered by a slightly see-through shroud. Harry was not happy at all at the appearance of this very unwelcome player, even more so when he realized that this new player was closer to catching the snitch than he was. With the bludgers nowhere in sight any longer he veered around and started off after the figure. The figure was riding a broom Harry had never seen before, which seemed only marginally faster than his Firebolt, but it didn't take Harry's Quidditch knowledge to discern that he was still the better flyer. After a few twists and turns Harry was up next to the would-be-seeker matching his every move with a practiced ease. They both followed the snitch into the hazardous trench running around the pitch, and Harry had a faint sense of déjà vu as they repeatedly tried to ram one another into a wooden girder or post. When they both pulled out of one end, behind the goalposts, Harry took his chance.  
  
With a quick snap of his arm he elbowed his attacker just under the ribs hard enough to send him veering off into a goal post. Hearing the crunch behind him he continued on to find the snitch moving straight ahead in front of him towards the halfway line. He focused now on the snitch, his hand outstretched towards that tiny golden ball, everything else was a blur of motion apart from the snitch which seemed seemed to flap a little slower as Harry's hand curled around it. He never even noticed the two ominous black shapes bearing down on him. As he hit the halfway line he was smashed in a bludger sandwich. One had been following him straight down the pitch and the other had been hurtling straight towards his face hidden behind the snitch which was the only thing Harry had focused on. He felt like he was held there for an age, the waves of shock finally giving over to excruciating agony as the bludgers released him and he fell to the floor still clutching the snitch. The last thing he saw before he blacked out were two large shapes bending over to pick him up.  
  
Harry reopened his eyes to be confronted by the glowering; if decidedly worse for wear, face of Malfoy standing before him. He couldn't help but smile though however as he thought about his predicament. He had Malfoy in front of him and if looks could kill he'd be six foot under, he was being held up by Crabbe and Goyle and McNair stood behind him, wand trained on his back. For some reason though he was less than scared, in fact he felt positively jovial as his ears seemed to catch laughter from off in the distance. Malfoy didn't seem to hear it and as Harry turned back to him, he carried on with what he had been about to say.  
  
"Super Harry Potter gets knocked from broom on first day back at school. Doesn't look good for Gryffindor does it boys?" he smirked at the rest of his gang who's body's rolled a little as they laughed heartily at Malfoy's pitiful excuse for a joke. The laughter in Harry's head stopped and for some reason he thought about Malfoy getting decked by girls on the train. Harry wasn't even there though, how had he known about that? Had someone told him? Who were the girls? Nevertheless something told him to push Malfoy, so he just smiled at him and made his comeback.  
  
"Draco Malfoy, son of known felon gets ass kicked by a girl after two bodyguards are rendered unconscious. Doesn't reflect well on young Dark wizards of the future does it?" at once Harry could tell he had touched a nerve, the laughter stopped, the bodies around him were stiff as boards. Malfoy's smile had turned into a frozen grimace. He knew it had been Harry who had trapped his father; Lucius, in the magical Mysteries department. His father had appealed but it had been Harry's evidence along with Dumbledore that had quashed the appeal. Draco's hand reached for his wand.  
  
"You know Potter, the unforgivable curses only work if you really hate the person your casting them on. I think I could make them work on you. I wonder if the same would happen to me as did the Dark Lord? Let's find out shall we?" he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. He gave it a small flick, the smile on his face growing wider, and was half way through 'Avada,' when Harry coughed. He had no idea whether his mother's gift would protect him again but he wanted to push Malfoy more, give himself an opening. If he was going out now then he was gonna go out kicking and screaming, not just slumping forward in a green mist.  
  
"Always relying on something other than yourself to get the job done. I mean are you holding me up? NO! Are you about to kill me? NO! Your gonna use magic, when you should be beating me to death with your bare hands. All your ever gonna amount to is a spoilt bully, who's good at a few magic tricks, just like your dad right about now..." he saw the punch coming before it connected, which should have told him really how weak it was going to be. If he hadn't still been a bit dazed his head wouldn't have lolled about so much, being hit by Malfoy was like being hit by a three year old girl, except that three year old girls could probably ball their fists better. Harry had learned to take a punch that summer. There was only so long you could dress like a goth without assholes giving you hassle and picking a fight. He had been in a lot of bust up's over the summer, and had gotten quite good at coming back from being punched in the face. He had always believed that in the movies when someone is punched there was no way he could stay on his feet well enough to return a blow. He had been wrong however when he learned that the more you got punched the easier it became to just role with it and stay on your feet; a fact he had put into use quite a lot. Harry smiled to himself, the smirk hidden by his down turned face all he needed now was... There it was, Malfoy motioned for his lacky's to drop Harry to the floor and back away a little so he could beat him up. Clearing his head Harry just started laughing.  
  
Before Malfoy had any time to react though Harry was up from the floor and had him in a head lock. With a knee to the face Harry would have sent Malfoy flying if not for McNair aiming his wand straight at Harry. With a quick twist of Malfoy's arm; far enough to just hear something break, Harry pulled off a spectacular kick which sent Malfoy's semi-conscious body flying into McNair taking them both out of the game. That only left Crabbe and Goyle to deal with now, and they would never be fast enough to pose a real threat. Harry pulled off an amazing leap over Crabbe's head and with a kick sent his flying into Goyle's stomach bowling them both over. Checking that everyone was on the floor, he took stock of what he had just done and smiled to himself. It had to be something to do with that Book of Merlin's, he made a mental note to ask Merlin when he got to his dorm. He looked back at Malfoy and saw him moving towards McNair's wand which had fallen to the floor a little way away.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Harry sent a white light at the wand which sent it flying away somewhere down field. Malfoy just stopped and stared up at him with dagger's in his eyes. He was about to say something when a look of realization came over his face and for a split second he looked about to cry, "What?" Harry asked him still smiling, "Your gonna tell your daddy bout his? I'd like to see that actually, cos I don't think they accept mail for prisoners in Azkaban," with one last victorious smirk he turned away, remembering to gather up his broom as he left. He was still smiling when he left the pitch, until he turned the corner and bumped quite forcibly into Cho Chang. He was the taller and stronger though and she fell backwards, leaving him feeling a little sorry for her. But after the way she had treated him in the fifth year, he didn't feel much sympathy for her. He wouldn't let her toy with him this year, but he would help her up. He held out his hand and she took it gratefully, pulling herself up until they're faces were very close.  
  
"Hi Harry, I guess those assholes must have let you go, your still looking good as always," Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing in her face. What was she trying to play at? If her flirting was this obvious, she must be gagging to get in his pants. She continued though, "Look Harry I'm sorry for playing with you two years ago. My mind was so... fucked up; I didn't know what to do. But I realized last year Harry, that I really do want you," she took his hands and pulled herself closer so they're noses were almost touching, "I just need to know Harry, do you still..." she was cut off by Harry kissing her passionately. All the way through her talking all Harry could think about was the summertime. According to his 'friends,' he was a master in manipulation, especially of girls. He was also known as a heart breaker, but more often than not was blamed for seriously screwing girls heads up. Now he had the chance to get his own back on Cho and get it out of his system. Before he knew what he was doing, or who he was betraying, he was dragging a very willing Cho back to his dorm room, loosening her clothes as they went.

Ginny rushed onto the quidditch pitch only to find the semi conscious bodies of Malfoy and his cronies. She had seen what was going on from the Gryffindor dorms, and had grabbed her broom and leapt from the window of her room before anyone could stop her. She had taken a nose dive to the floor before pulling up and heading straight to the quidditch pitch so fast she completely missed Harry meeting Cho beneath her. If she gone down the practical way she would have passed Harry on the stairs back up to dorms. As it was she just rushed over to Malfoy, wand at the ready just incase anything happened.  
  
"What happened you bastard?" she screamed at Malfoy who fell back over in fear as he saw the wand in her hand, "TELL ME! Where's Harry?" Malfoy just stared at her fearful of what she might do.  
  
"He just left, he kicked our asses and then just left, there was nothing we could do," he spoke quickly, giving away a lot more truth than he meant to. Now the whole school would know what had happened and they would all be laughing stocks. But Ginny looked confused, Harry had beaten them all up? She had seen Harry throw a punch in her defense before, in London, but she couldn't believe that he could take on these four alone and survive. Harry had changed so much over the summer; there was still so much she didn't know about him. Was he even the same person she had known last year? Where had he learned to fight like this? What else had happened to him?  
  
She mulled over these questions as she slowly walked back up to her Gryffindor tower. She wanted to know the answers, but the prospect of asking Harry more about his summer scared her. What if she didn't like what she heard? She decided on the way to speak to Hermione about it, she was probably sitting in the common room, already studying for lessons she hadn't started yet. Lo and behold as Ginny walked through the picture of the fat lady and up the stairs she found Hermione sitting at a table alone, mulling over a copy of Advanced Magic, 7th Year Hogwarts Syllabus, by Albus Dumbledore. Even sitting down next to her Hermione still didn't notice Ginny's presence until Ginny tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Yes goodnight, I'll be up in a minute Ron..." she said oblivious of who it was. When Ginny tapped her again and she looked up to see who it was, she immediately looked shocked and embarrassed, "Ohhh sorry Gin, didn't see you there. You know I really didn't mean that, I'm not actually planning on going up to Ron's dorm tonight, I'm not really a rule breaker you know?" Even with all the worry in her head Ginny still managed a real smile at Hermione's protesting. But she had to speak quickly with her or her head was going to explode.  
  
"Don't worry Hermione, I won't tell anyone when they find you missing you tonight..." Hermione was about to protest, but Ginny silenced her by continuing quickly, "I want to talk to you though. It's about Harry," all at once Hermione donned an understanding look on her face, which made Ginny uneasy.  
  
"Ohhh Ginny, I know how hard it is to push your feelings to one side for a long time especially when you're in such close proximity but it really is for the best at the moment. Maybe in the future," Hermione had got the completely wrong end of the stick; well sort of, so Ginny shut her up before she settled down into a rant.  
  
"No Herm, I'm worried about him. I just flew down to the quidditch pitch because I saw Malfoy and his gang beating Harry. When I got there though, all I found was Malfoy and Co. crumpled bodies, all battered and bruised and no Harry. Malfoy said Harry had done it to them. Did he tell you or Ron anything about fighting during the summer?" Hermione was about to say something when Ron and Seamus interrupted by rushing into the common room.  
  
"Who's been fighting where?" asked Ron excitedly.  
  
"Harry just kicked the crap out of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and McNair," replied Ginny before turning back to Hermione for her to continue.  
  
"OHHH YEAH!!!" cried Seamus with a look of utter glee on his face, "All at the same time? YEEEHAAAA!" He punched Ron jovially on the arm but missed the fact that Ron didn't share his happiness. He was looking from Ginny to Hermione, with a slightly worried expression on his face that asked if Harry was alright, "He's probably up in the dorm right now, come on Ron, lets go congratulate him," Seamus grabbed Ron and dragged him with along up the stairs. Ginny watched Ron go, hopeful that he would talk to Harry and be able to quell her fears.

Ron bobbed along behind Seamus until they got to the door at the top of the landing and stopped to go in. Ron was about to turn the handle when Seamus gave a stifled yell and grabbed his hand and stopped him. Ron was wondering what was wrong, when he noticed a blue hair scrunchie wrapped around the handle to his room. He looked at Seamus wondering what was wrong, and it dawned on Seamus that Ron probably didn't have a television.  
  
"There's a Muggle comedy show on our televisions right?" asked Seamus hopping that Ron had at least heard of a T.V.  
  
"Ohhh you mean those funny little picture boxes, that are in all Muggle houses, I've never seen the point in those things, can't you entertain yourselves without them?" asked Ron bewildered about the fascination with something so small.  
  
"That's the point. There's a show on the television about a boarding school like this one, just not magical. It centers on the sexual escapades of these four guys. What I'm trying to say is, that in the program whenever one guy gets a girl in his bed he has to let other people know by givin them a signal not to come in. In the program that signal is a blue scrunchie," Seamus looked hopeful that ron would understand now, but Ron just laughed it off. He was about to say how stupid that would be, but heard a noise form inside, like a bed creaking. Seamus smiled at him and they both placed they're ears to the door to try and hear something. From inside they heard voices and one was immediately recognizable as Harry's.  
  
"Okay so this may hurt a little bit darling, just to warn you," they heard Harry say but then another voice giggled. They couldn't quite make out who it was because she spoke so quietly.  
  
"I doubt it Harry, I lost my virginity a while ago..." So there was no doubt in Ron's mind now that Harry was having sex in there, but with who? Harry spoke again though.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that darling..." Suddenly there was a muffled scream and a slapping sound then a sound of something hitting the floor forcibly. Trying harder to listen through the door, Ron and Seamus lost their footing when it was opened and crumpled into a confused heap on the floor. When they looked up they got a really good look at Cho's naked crotch as she struggled to pull up her trousers and step over them at the same time. They looked into the room confused and found Harry on the floor covered in a blanket and rubbing his cheek tenderly. It was obvious that Cho had slapped him but he still had a smile on his face wider than Ron had ever seen. While Ron looked on at him worried Seamus just laughed and got up.  
  
"What the hell did you do?" he asked still laughing. Harry just smiled back.  
  
"Have you ever heard about the ooops approach to Anal sex?"

A/N: Well I'd like to apologise again for the delay but it's out now so no complaining. There's another one out soon. Enjoy and please review.


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